The Beat of Three Hearts
by Books In the Blood
Summary: The Doctor has always said that he doesn't do domestics. But when Rose discovers she is pregnant, the Doctor finds himself changing his mind as he and Rose navigate potential parenthood and their feelings for each other. But when an old enemy resurfaces amid the family bliss, will the Doctor be able to protect his new family?
1. Alive and Well

**_This Doctor Who fic is set right after "The Parting of the Ways". A look at what might happened if the 9th doctor hadnt had to regenerate into the 10th doctor. _**

_Power…..so much power that it made her feel like she was going to explode. Light like the sun exploding was all that she could see, but seeing and hearing were mere technicalities. Feeling….that was so much more important right now. Her whole body was aware of the light….she could feel it, touch it not merely see it like her normal eyes could. Something was building inside her body, a sensation like she had never felt before. _

_Power! She felt like she could do anything…energy was rippling through her body, pumping through her just as easily as her own blood ran through her veins. It felt wonderful….mere human abilities seemed weak and feeble compared to the things that she knew now that she could do. She could do anything…..she had the power of a god…._

_Time….all that was and is and ever will be exploded in her head like a million supernovas blowing up in radiant fire. So much information….all of the galaxies combined experiences blew up in front of her, inside of her. Such happiness, sadness, loss, birth, death….it was all before her. _

_The energy kept building inside her; it was wonderful, making every inch of her body tingle with the potential of all that she could do. All that she could see! She could reach into time itself and see things, all things. Change things…..change everything. But the power kept building; at some point it stopped being a good thing. It started to hurt; what had been a delightful tingling feeling began to be stabbing points all over her body. Her heart was beating out of her chest; how was it not exploding? Her head ached like it was going to split open. Power soon turned to panic; there was too much energy in her. It was going to rip her apart if it didn't stop…._

_Only it did stop; something perfect and amazing touched her and suddenly all the power she felt slowly slid out of her. It should hurt, it should be a bad thing to feel the all-consuming energy leaving her, but it only felt good. All energy was zapped from her body and then everything went dark. _

_….._

Rose opened her eyes; her vision was blurry and she rubbed at her eyes to focus. She found that she was staring up at the ceiling of the TARDIS, her back sore from lying on the floor. Lights flashed around her and she heard the familiar whirl of the TARDIS' behind her. She sat up, stretching her sore muscles and turned around. The doctor was working on the controls of the TARDIS and he looked at her as she got off the floor. Her feet felt slightly shaky as she walked over to the doctor. She felt strange; tired and kind of fuzzy all over. Her muscles ached, her stomach felt slightly woozy and her head pounded. What had happened? She rubbed her head as she tried to remember. The last thing she had remembered was pulling off the door to the heart of heart of the TARDIS. When she had looked inside it, it was like everything had gone dark; the next thing she knew she was waking up here. She must have missed something; it must have worked. The doctor had been so far from her but now here he was. They were both safe….they were both together.

"What….what happened?" Rose asked, sitting down on the chair at the TARDIS' consol. When the doctor turned around to face her, she saw the yellowish tone of skin, bright and glowing before it vanished. "Oh my god…..what? What just happened to you? You're…._glowing. _Or, at least you were" she asked, pointing , alarmed at the sight.

The doctor sighed, his shoulders slumping as if he was tired too. "You don't remember any of it?" he asked. He didn't seem surprised that she had no idea what had happened. She got the idea that she had apparently missed something very important.

Rose shook her head. "No…..no I don't remember" she said. She felt a pang in her stomach when she remembered the events of earlier; how the doctor had tricked her into the TARDIS and sent it back home without even telling her anything. She knew that he thought that it was the best thing, but it had been one of the most terrifying moments of her life, believing that the doctor was dead and that she was never going to see him again. Her throat got tight at the memory. "Why….why were you just glowing?" she asked.

The doctor looked a little sad as he looked at her. "You looked into the heart of the TARDIS, Rose." He said simply, seriously. She saw pain in his eyes. She didn't understand where it was coming from.

"Yeah…..and then I don't remember anything" she said, hoping he would elaborate as to what was going.

"You're lucky it didn't kill you, Rose" The doctor said with seriousness. Rose wondered if she was imagining it when she saw him pale. "The power of the TARDIS is strong…..way too strong for a human. It's almost too strong for me…..you had all of that power flowing through you. You destroyed the Daleks, got rid of the threat but it was too much for you to take. So I had to take it from you….that's why I was glowing. The power of the TARDIS was flowing in and out of me" He looked like it exhausted him.

Rose thought about it for a few moments; she did remember vaguely the feeling of what had happened even though she didn't remember the events. She could remember feeling good, powerful….but then fear and pain. "I did?" she asked about the Daleks. "They're really gone?"

The doctor nodded. "Yeah….yeah you did it Rose" Rose still thought that he looked sad.

"You're going to be okay, right?" Rose asked. "The power of the TARDIS? You're fine now right?"

The doctor nodded. "It hurt a little….well, quite a lot. But I'm fine" he said wearily.

Rose looked up at him. "If the power was inside me, then how did it get out of me and into you?" she asked. She had just looked into the TARDIS and the power had come to her, but the doctor was acting like he had done something to pull the power out of her.

She knew she wasn't mistaken when saw a faint blush creep up his cheeks. "It's not that important" he said nonchalantly but Rose wasn't going to let him get out of it so easily.

"You tell me that I had enough power inside me to kill me and you aren't planning on telling me how that power came out of me?" Rose asked. "I think I deserve to know….especially if I just destroyed all the Daleks. I think you owe me that much" she said, raising her eyebrows at him. She gave him the look she always gave him when she was fishing for information that he didn't want to give.

He didn't meet her eyes, but smiled as he looked off a little to the side. "I kissed you" he said quietly.

That wasn't at all the answer that Rose had been expecting. The doctor had kissed her? Surely if something like that had happened she would remember it. She _wanted _to remember it. "What?" she asked in disbelief.

The small smile on the doctor's face grew to a grin as he looked at her. "I kissed you, Rose Tyler" he said, sounding a little more proud of himself. "When we kissed the energy passed from you into me"

Rose was a little stunned; sounded like a good kiss too and she had missed it. She blushed a little at the thought. She had often watched the doctor's lips when he was ranting off something that she didn't understand, wondering what they might taste like. She shook her head, hoping he couldn't tell what she was thinking. "So…..you had to?" she asked. Maybe he hadn't wanted to….maybe he didn't like it. She didn't want to think about that.

The doctor was still smiling. "I didn't have to" he said. "We needed to have a physical connection between us to make the transfer….it was the best way I could think of doing that"

"I don't remember any of that" Rose said, trying not to let it show how much that bothered her. She couldn't read him….whether he wanted to kiss her or not. But then again, she supposed that it was a heated moment, a lot of other things going on.

The doctor's face fell, the smile disappearing. "That's not surprising…..with all that energy in you it's a wonder you even remember who you are." He walked up to her, putting his hands on her arms and looking deep into her eyes. It surprised her and she felt her breath catching. "Rose, why did you do that? Why didn't you stay at home like I wanted? You could be…I could have lost you"

Rose saw tears in his eyes that were trapped, unallowed to fall. The weight of the whole day and all the terror that she had felt came crashing down on her. She could feel her own tears beginning to tug at her eyes and she wasn't as strong as the doctor; she couldn't hold them in. "Do you even have to ask why?" she asked, her voice cracking. Surely he should have known she wouldn't just go home and easily accept her fate; how could he even believe that she would in the first place? She wasn't with him because she was a quitter.

The doctor's face turned even sadder. "Of course I do…..I set up Emergency Program 1 to save you. I wanted to you to be safe….to go home to your mum and live the rest of your life. I didn't want you to die today"

"And do what?!" Rose asked, emotion cracking her voice, a few tears rolling down her face. "What did you expect me to do? Go back to working in a shop? After all of this how could I ever do anything else? Dying today with you was better than going home and living without you"

The doctor closed his eyes and shook his head. "Don't say that, Rose" he said, looking at her. "You don't mean it"

"I do" Rose said with seriousness. Didn't he know her at all? Dull everyday life would be impossible after what she had seen. "I don't want that anymore…I wanted to be here with you, even if that meant today would be the last day."

Rose watched the doctor's lip quiver a little but he still managed to fight off the tears. "I didn't want that" he said. "I thought I was going to die, Rose….I didn't want your death to be the last thing I got to see. I wanted to die knowing you were safe and that eventually you would be happy."

Rose felt her heart ripping slightly; she never would have been happy on Earth, wondering if the doctor had died….assuming that he had. Maybe she would have managed eventually but she would never have been happy. "You didn't even give me a chance to say goodbye" she said through sobs.

The doctor bit his lip. "It was better that way…..make it easier to move on" he said sadly. They both knew that was a lie.

"I couldn't have done that" Rose looked up at him. "I don't want safe….I don't want a long life. I just want to be with you….no matter how dangerous it might be I just want to be with you"

The doctor put his hands on either side of Rose's face, looking deep into her eyes; she could see the unshed tears in his eyes and the surprise on his face. He was, somehow, surprised to see the emotion and deep commitment from her. Rose didn't know how he couldn't know how she felt about him already, but his look told her that didn't.

The next moment, the doctor captured Rose's lips with his own. His lips touched hers gently, almost just brushing against hers at first, before pressing a little harder. Rose's breath caught in her throat at first but she quickly relaxed, moving her own mouth against his. His lips were soft, tasting of something sweet she couldn't place. She didn't remember their other kiss, but all she knew was that this one took her breath away. This time the kiss was not to save her life, this time it wasn't because he had to; the doctor was kissing her now because he wanted to and Rose felt her heart beating out her chest at the realization. She put her arms around him, pulling him ever so closer to her; he was warm, hot almost, his hearts were beating…..he was alive.

After a long while the doctor pulled back slightly, his forehead resting on Rose's, his hands moving to her back to keep her close. Both their breaths were labored but they made no move to put distance between them. The doctor's hands were light on her, almost like he was afraid she was a vapor that might disappear from his grasp. "Don't ever do something like that again" he said, his voice a whisper, cracking slightly.

"I had to…."Rose said just as quietly. "You left me and I had no choice. Don't ever leave me behind again"

This time it was Rose who pulled the doctor into a kiss; her heart was hammering inside her chest and she was glad when she felt his lips move quickly against hers again. Rose felt the doctor move towards her, pulling her to him so that her chest was against his; she could feel the quick beating of his hearts close to where her heart was. His touches that had been so gentle now seemed to get a little more persistent; holding her tight against him.

Rose began to feel almost desperate to feel him, alive and well. It was mere hours ago that she had thought he was dead, that she would never get to see him again. She kissed him back harder, more insistent as her hands ran up his back, under his jacket and shirt. His skin felt so soft and warm; almost as if it was on fire. The small touch of his skin, rather than satiating her, made her only more desperate for more.


	2. Regrets

**Thank you to all who have read so far :) I love hearing from you all! Also, thanks to Emilie Brown who made my lovely story cover. **

Rose's eyes lazily opened and then closed quickly as she stretched in bed, the sheets rubbing cool against her skin. She rolled over and reached out, seeking warmth but he wasn't there. Rose opened her eyes and looked over to see that the doctor was no longer beside her; perhaps that was for the best. She lay on her back and looked up at the ceiling; maybe it wasn't. She did want him here even if she didn't yet understand what had happened or what she should say or do next.

She thought about the night before, the images filling her head and making her smile. She hadn't intended for it to happen, it just kind of had. She had just been filled with desire to grow closer to him, eager for touch, taking more and more until she had had him all. He had not only been eager to follow her lead but seemed to reach toward her with the same desire to hold on to her and never let go. Her heart beat quicker and her skin tingled slightly when she remembered the way he had touched her and the way he had made her feel .It was better than she might have imagined, _different. _She didn't know if it was the whole time lord thing or if it was just because it was….._him. _ It hadn't been planned, but she didn't regret it at all.

Rose slowly and reluctantly slid out from under the covers and picked her clothes off the floor and put them back on. She walked down the corridors and to the console room, not surprisingly finding the doctor messing with the controls. Rose walked slowly over to him, for the first time ever feeling really embarrassed and flustered around him. "Where's she taking us next?" Rose asked casually, gesturing to the consol. Suddenly she didn't know what to say around him and that had never been the case.

The doctor kept his eyes down. "I've just got her suspended for right now…..wasn't sure where I wanted to go next" he said quietly.

Rose could sense that something wasn't right; he wasn't looking at her and his eyes were downcast. He held himself slightly slumped, sad almost. Rose felt the good mood she had had slowly dissolve. "Are you okay?" Rose asked, slipping her arms around his waist from behind, giving him a warm hug. "Tired? I know I'm a bit tired….after last night" Rose said shyly.

Rose was alarmed when the doctor detached her arms from himself and stepped back a bit, turning toward her. "Rose….we need to talk" he said, giving her a neutral look.

Rose's stomach dropped at his words; 'we need to talk' was never a good thing, especially when it came to relationships. "Okay" she said cautiously, trying to hide the alarm in her voice.

The doctor looked into her eyes. "About last night…..It was really great, but….." he started before stuttering.

"But you regret it" Rose said sadly as she looked down. She didn't look at him as she said it; she wasn't stupid. She knew exactly where this conversation was going. Now that morning had hit he was thinking clearly, he knew it was a mistake. While Rose hadn't planned on doing it, and admitted that it was a bit fast, she wasn't going to say she regretted it. Because she didn't; it had been wonderful. She looked down at the floor for as long as she dared before looking up at her.

She saw hurt in his eyes when she looked at him. "No" he said quickly. "I don't regret it…..it's not that it's just….I don't think we should do it again."

"And why's that?" Rose asked. She tried to keep the hurt out of her voice but it was obvious.

The doctor looked away. "Because it's complicated…..things are moving way too fast. It's my fault, I should have said something. I shouldn't have let it go on"

Rose frowned a bit, growing more alarmed by the second. "Well it wasn't exactly just your decision. I did have a bit of a say in it too "she said. "And frankly, I _wanted _it to go on. Didn't you?"

She held her breath unconsciously as he waited for him to answer. He looked at her with pained eyes again. "I was so glad to have you back…..I wasn't thinking properly" he said.

Rose felt a mix of emotions in her; she was upset, sad that the doctor obviously wished that they had never slept together. It hurt…..but she was also angry. Angry that he seemed to think his opinion was the only one that mattered. She wasn't even sure how she felt about it yet but she knew that she didn't regret it. "So….that's just it? You had some sort of rush and now that you've gotten off you just want to pretend it never happened?" she asked, not even trying to hold back the bitterness.

Embarrassment was obvious on the doctor's face. "Rose, please…."

"Oh, am I embarrassing you?" Rose asked as she folded her arms. "It's the truth, though isn't it?"

"I told you it was complicated" the doctor said giving her a strained look. "Are you forgetting that I'm not even human, Rose?"

"Do I look like I bloody care?!" Rose said, knowing she was getting overly emotional but not able to stop her start. "You really think I'm going to get hung up on the fact that I'm human and you're time lord? This is not new information to me"

"Rose, can't you just calm down?" the doctor asked. "I'm trying to talk about this logically"

"No you're not!" Rose burst out. "You're trying to make me go along with your plan to forget this ever happened."

"It's a good plan!" the doctor said, his voice rising.

Rose turned away from the doctor, fuming inside. "Take me home" she said simply.

She could hear surprise in the doctor's voice behind her. "What? Why?" he asked.

Rose whipped around. "Just take me home" she said looking at him with determination.

"Rose, don't be ridiculous" the doctor said. "You just want to leave because you are refusing to talk to me"

"I don't want to talk about it" Rose said through clenched teeth. "You made a mistake last night, you want to forget about it….much easier to do without me here"

"I don't want you to leave" the doctor said softly. He reached out to hug Rose, but she moved back. "Take me home" she said defiantly. She felt her throat tighten and she refused to do something stupid like cry about it.

The doctor looked down sadly. "If that's really what you want, I'll take you home."

…

Rose walked quickly up the stairs of the building of her flat, arms still wrapped around herself. She had said a brief goodbye to the doctor; she hadn't hugged him and that felt wrong. She was upset and part of her didn't really want to leave him; she instantly regretted it as the TARDIS disappeared. But she was mad too; he could come back when he was ready to actually talk to her about this. While she might not yet be ready to have a physical relationship with the doctor on a regular basis, she did want to discuss having a romantic one. She was confused; very confused.

Rose opened the door of her flat and walked in, glad to see her mother sitting on the couch watching telly. She heard the door an instantly whipped around. "Rose!" she said, standing up and walking over to her, her eyes wide with excitement, "You're back! And so soon…."

Rose realized that her mother probably thought that Rose would be dead; the way that she had spoken about the doctor and his imminent death and how she had rushed off after him. She probably thought that she'd never see her again. "Yeah….here I am" Rose said, forcing a smile but tears were making their way to her eyes.

Her mother could see that she wasn't okay, despite her weak attempt at keeping face. "Rose, honey….what's wrong?" she asked, putting her arms on Rose's, looking into her eyes.

Her mother's concern was enough to make her resolve crumble. Rose started to cry, putting her arms around her mum as she hugged her back.

"What is it, Rose?" her mother asked in concern.

Rose couldn't tell her, didn't want to tell her. She rested her head on her mum's shoulder and continued to cry. "I don't want to talk about it" she said simply. She knew her mum wouldn't press her on it. And she was right; her mother simply hugged her tight and held on as long as she wanted her to.

….

The doctor paced slowly around the console of the TARDIS before plopping down in the chair. He had the TARDIS hovering over Earth; he had no idea where to go now, nor did he want to go anywhere. He and Rose had experienced so much yesterday with the Daleks; he didn't normally want to go someplace and just _relax _but right now that's exactly what he wanted to do. But he couldn't go by himself; he didn't _want _to go anywhere by himself.

He sat back in the chair and stared up at the ceiling; the last thing he wanted was to have Rose leave. Yesterday he'd not only thought his life was going to end but he certainly never thought he'd see her again if he made it out alive. He'd been so happy to have her back, he'd allowed his emotions to run wild. He should have had more control; that was his fault. Now Rose was upset with him; he should have prevented this whole thing.

Rose seemed to think that he didn't enjoy what had happened between them. That wasn't the case at all. It had been amazing, fantastic. He'd allowed himself to picture such things in his dreams at night alone but he never planned on acting on those feelings. He'd just wanted to be so close to her last night that things had gone too far and now she was hurt. Maybe he was being selfish like Rose said he was; had just used her in a time of need and now he wanted to forget it?

No, of course she wasn't right. Yes, she'd been right that he was selfish but she wasn't right in thinking he had just used her and it meant nothing to him. She just didn't understand. He didn't do these sorts of things; he hadn't done them in a very, very long time. He kept his companions at arm's length because he had to. Because they were humans and they were frail, because they eventually had to leave him. He couldn't get too attached to them because it was hard enough to leave them as friends but when you brought in love….it was heartbreaking.

If he and Rose started having a physical relationship it would be impossible to deny the feelings that he had for her; that that invisible line he'd drawn for himself was slowly being crossed. He knew Rose wasn't just a companion to him; he knew it was more than that. But he had to stop it, had to shield himself. He couldn't do that if they were romantically interested. It didn't matter if he wanted it or not.

Realizing he left his sonic screwdriver in his bedroom, he walked through the ship to his room, slowly; no point in being in a hurry. When he opened the door and walked in, he regretted it.

The bed was still unmade, Rose's jacket draped over the footboard. He felt a pang of sadness go through him; he considered going back right away for her but he resisted. She'd said she wanted some time to herself and he didn't want to anger her further by coming back immediately. He walked further into the room, sitting down on the unmade bed, forgetting the sonic screwdriver that sat on the bedside table. He pulled the jacket toward himself, feeling a weight in it; reaching in to the pocket, he found her phone. It was the only way she had of contacting him and now she didn't have it; not wanting to think about it, the doctor tossed the phone across the bed but kept the jacket in his hands, pressing it to his face.


	3. Surprise

The doctor's hearts were beating quickly as he stared at the building where Rose's flat was. It wasn't like him to be nervous; he normally faced things much more serious than going to meet a human girl. But he didn't know how this was going to go; he was still insistent that he and Rose had to take these things very slowly but he hoped they could have a normal conversation about it. He wanted a physical relationship with Rose but he was actually….afraid. He wasn't sure he could let himself give in to the strong emotions that he was barely holding back.

He'd waited a week before coming back and he hoped that it was enough for Rose to have missed him; he knew that he missed her. He'd wanted to come back the day that he left.

The doctor walked up the stairs and to Rose's flat, knocking on the door a few times before Jackie came to the door. She gave him a look of surprise before her expression turned annoyed. "Bought time you showed up" she said scowling at him as he came in the flat. "Rose's been moping for you for weeks."

"Weeks?" The doctor asked in surprise. It was only supposed to have been one week.

"Yeah, can't you tell time, space boy?" Jackie asked in annoyance. "It's been three months since you dropped her off. She's been mopping the entire time."

Rose, who was sitting on the couch glared at her Jackie. "Shut up, mum" she said muttered in frustration before turning back around and staring blankly at the telly. Her lack of interest in him and her obvious annoyance wasn't a good sign. The doctor cringed; three months…..it had been a long time. He really needed to get better about that.

"I miscalculated a bit" the doctor said, drifting a little closer to Rose before Jackie pulled him to her and whispered. "I'm going to work…..talk to her, try to get through to her. I don't know what happened between you two, but you need to talk to her. She won't talk to me. She's been a wreck"

The doctor nodded, giving her a small smile before she slipped out the door. The doctor felt unease settle over him as he sat down on the couch beside Rose. If Jackie was asking him of all people to get through to her, something was definitely wrong.

Rose stared straight ahead at the telly, not looking at him. Oh, this was going to be fun….

"Hey, Rose" the doctor said with a smile. "I've missed you. I'm glad to see you"

"You've been gone forever" Rose said glaring away from him.

"Yeah, I know….a small miscalculation. I thought it'd been a week." He nudged her arm. "Remember when I dropped you off a year later when I thought it'd only been 12 hours" he said with a laugh. He was feeling nervous, uncomfortable and he was dealing with things the way that he normally did; joking.

Rose turned to look at him; glare was more accurate a word. "Oh, yeah that was hilarious….Mickey was accused of murdering me and my mum nearly went crazy waiting for me to come home. Real funny…." She said sarcastically before looking away.

The doctor snatched the remote from Rose and turned the telly off. "Rose, stop it" he said getting a little annoyed himself. "I made a mistake. I'm sorry. I'm sorry I showed up so late, I'm sorry about…..our argument. Please, just talk to me"

After a minute or two Rose turned her body so that she was facing the doctor. Her angry expression had turned sad. "I thought you were mad at me" she said.

The doctor softened at her words. "No, I wasn't mad at you Rose….I wanted to come back the minuet I dropped you off. But you said that you wanted time, so I waited for a week. I didn't want to…..I was never mad you. I just wanted to talk about what had happened."

Rose looked down at her lap, fiddling with the strings on her jacket. "I'm sorry I got so upset about that….I just thought….." she didn't finish what she was going to say but the doctor understood. She thought he didn't want her.

"It's alright, really" the doctor said. "We can talk about it now if you want to."

Rose kept looking down; her face took on an apprehensive expression which made the doctor worry. "Rose…..is something wrong?" he asked after a few minutes.

Rose shrugged before looking at him. "Yeah….something's a bit wrong." She said biting her lip.

The doctor felt his stomach drop. "What is it?" he asked. She didn't seem like she wanted to talk so the doctor prodded her. "Rose…..whatever it is, you can tell me, okay? We'll take care of it like we always do" He tried to make his voice as calm as possible even though he suspected something was really wrong.

"You were right" Rose said looking down.

"Right about what?"

"We should have thought about what we were doing…..should have been more careful" Rose said looking off to the side.

"Why are you saying this?" the doctor asked. Rose had felt so strongly to the contrary last time they'd spoken he wondered what could have changed her mind.

"Doctor….I….." Rose started but faltered.

"What, Rose?" the doctor prodded.

Rose finally looked up at the doctor. "I'm pregnant" she said in a small, quiet voice.

The doctor felt like an iron fist had suddenly gripped his hearts. "What?" he asked, uncertainly. This had to be a mistake….it simply had to be.

Rose's eyes darted around before meeting the doctor's again. "I'm pregnant" she said again. Fear showed in her eyes; she was watching and measuring every small reaction he was having.

The doctor's breath was straining in and out slowly and his hearts were beginning to speed up in their beating. The walls of the small flat seemed to be closing in on him. His first instinct was to run but he knew that he couldn't do that. He gripped the arm of the couch and forced himself to remain calm; panicking would no doubt only cause Rose to panic. "W-what? I mean, are you sure?" he asked.

Rose rolled her eyes. "Don't you think I made sure before I told you…..I'm certain. Five pregnancy tests don't lie." she said.

_Oh my God…..pregnant…_ "I'm assuming your mother doesn't know" the doctor said. He was fairly sure she'd have killed him if she knew.

"Of course not" Rose said. "I wanted to tell you first. I was afraid you might not show up in time…..and I'd have to tell her. But I wanted to tell you first since…..you know….it's your baby and all."

"Are you _sure_?" The doctor asked, a slight note of hysteria in his voice. He felt like he couldn't breathe properly.

Rose scowled. "I just told you I was sure!" she said in irritation.

"No I mean are you sure it's mine?" The doctor croaked out in hysterics. He instantly regretted letting the words slip from his mouth. Rose's face fell and he could see tears in her eyes. He hadn't meant to say it, but now that it was out there it was going to cause devastating consequences.

"Are you honestly asking me that?" she asked, her voice cracking. "Are you honestly suggesting I…" She gave the doctor a pained expression before jumping off the couch and running to her room, slamming the door behind her.

The doctor knew he had to talk to her but he remained frozen for a moment. Rose was going to have baby…..he hadn't even processed the fact that they'd actually slept together yet and now he was finding out she was pregnant, that she had been for months. Suddenly he felt a pang in his hearts; he was being completely insensitive. Rose had been carrying this knowledge for months on her own, wanting to tell him and now that she had, she'd only gotten negative response from him. As scared as this made him, he needed to stop acting like a teenage boy and do something to put her at ease. He was, after all, the one that had been a parent before, not Rose.

He got off the couch and walked toward Rose's room, not surprised to find it locked. She knew better; the doctor pulled out his sonic and opened the lock. Rose was stretched out on her bed, facing away from the door, her shoulders shaking from crying. The doctor sat on the bed behind her, putting a hand on her shoulder. She flinched away from his touch.

"I'm sorry, Rose" the doctor said. "What I said, it was a stupid question. I didn't mean it"

Rose flipped over to so that she was lying on her back, tears running down her face. "You're such a liar…..you totally meant it. What does that say about me?" she said quietly.

"I said sorry" the doctor said. "We just…..we just did it the one time. I was having a hard time absorbing all this"

"So you accuse me of sleeping around?" Rose asked accusingly, wiping the tears off her face. It sounded so bad coming from her.

"I wasn't accusing" the doctor insisted. "I was just asking."

Rose gave him a serious look. "I haven't…..not once….since I met you" she said. The doctor could see her lip quiver as if she wanted to cry but was trying not to. A second later she had sat up and their arms were wrapped around each other. The doctor sighed at how warm, comfortable and right it felt to hug Rose. He had missed her so much even though it had been such a short time for him. He held onto her, not even remotely wanting to let go. "I really am sorry….it was stupid of me to ask. Stupid of me to show up so late too, though I'm officially blaming that one on the TARDIS"

He was glad when he heard a small chuckle from Rose. "It's always her fault, isn't it?" she asked, still holding onto him.

"Well, she did land in the wrong time" he said, giving her a squeeze. Rose squeezed back harder, holding onto him as if he was a life preserver in water.

"I'm scared doctor" she said, her voice shaking slightly.

The doctor pulled back, his hands on her arms and gave her a smile. "You're scared?" he asked. "Surely Rose Tyler, the girl who saved me from an army of Daleks is not scared."

Rose gave a half smile before letting it fall again. "That's different" she said.

The doctor kept smiling, hoping she would soon be smiling too. "This is a baby, Rose. It's not scarier than a Dalek" he said. He was secretly terrified but he couldn't let her know that. He had to reassure her.

Rose closed her eyes. "I'm not ready…..I can't be someone's mum" she said.

"Sure you can Rose" the doctor said giving her arms a squeeze. "You'll do fantastic."

"Yeah, sure" Rose said skeptically. The doctor put his hands on her cheeks and looked into her eyes. "Really Rose….you'll be fine. We'll do this together"

Rose finally smiled, wiping a stray tear away from her eye. "I'm so glad you're here now…..I really thought…..thought maybe you wouldn't come back"

"I hope you didn't really think that" the doctor said. "Surely you knew I'd come back" He paused before taking her hand; she let him, and slight calm came over her face at the touch. "How long have you know?" he asked.

"About two months" Rose said. "I didn't want to accept it at first….but I took all those tests and they all came back positive. I knew it couldn't be wrong. I didn't want to go to a doctor because….."

"Because of what?" he asked, seeing she expected him to know what she was thinking.

"Well, you know….I wasn't sure everything would be….._normal" _Rose said with a raise of her eyebrows. "You know….since you're kind of an alien and all" she gave him the first real smile he'd seen all day and he tried to return it. She brought up something that he hadn't thought of before. What would the baby be? Human? Timelord? Something in between? He didn't know….it wasn't like there was a case of human and timelord breeding….well none that he knew of anyway.

The doctor gave her a jesting look. "You're the alien one" he said joked before saying, "Well, I'm the only doctor you'll need anyway; the TARDIS had equipment that can scan you and…." He paused, taking it in. "The baby"

Rose looked nervous but she still smiled a little, taking his hand.


	4. Heartbeats

Rose felt her spirits lift as she walked through the wooden blue doors into the TARDIS; it had come to feel as much like home as her house did. She had missed it all this time that the Doctor had been gone.

It hadn't been easy while he'd been gone. She missed him only days after he left but she didn't have her phone so she couldn't call him. Not that she necessary wanted to come crawling back to him, but she would have called him long before now. In those first days after he left she struggled with her feelings for him. She didn't know when her feelings for him had stopped being just for him as a friend, but somewhere along the line she had started to feel more for him. She wasn't even completely conscious of the change happening, but when she'd almost lost him she knew that she loved him. She didn't want to ever have to be without him. It was hard for her to accept that he didn't want that sort of relationship with her; it wasn't that that she doubted he cared because she didn't. But he wasn't interested in them getting any closer and that bit of it was harder to accept.

She hadn't initially thought that he wasn't mad at her but the longer that he went without coming back, she began to suspect that he was angry at her and wasn't going to come back, at least not for a long time. She did her best to try and forget about the fight that they had had and stop worrying about when he was coming back. She'd even tried to ignore it when she missed her period that month; it wasn't like it was the first time that that had ever happened. When she had started to get sick every morning for a week in row, though, that was harder to ignore. Her hands had been shaking when she'd been in the drug store looking at pregnancy tests; it seemed like some sort of horrible nightmare. She snuck them in under her coat and waited until her mum had gone to sleep before taking the test. She hadn't believed the first one that came up positive; or even the first few. Eventually she'd been sitting on the floor of the bathroom with a spatter of positive pregnancy tests. She had just leaned against the tub and cried, not wanting to believe it. The Doctor had been right; they shouldn't have done what they did. She was now faced with the cold, hard truth of being a mother and she didn't even know when the Doctor was coming back. She'd spent forever in the bathroom, smuggling the tests out into the dumpster outside in her dressing gown before going back to bed and crying some more.

It was hard to hide the truth from her mum; she knew that something was wrong and she refused to give up asking about it. She could read Rose almost like a book and she didn't know how much longer she could hide it. Her morning sickness had finally gone away mostly, and she had been able to hide most of her odd food cravings but she was sleeping more and was overly emotional. She snapped at her mum and was often harsh or irrational. Her mum knew something was wrong; maybe she even suspected what it was. But she hadn't confronted her on it yet. Rose's stomach flip flopped when she considered telling her mum; it'd been hard enough telling the Doctor. She resolved to wait a while before telling her mum.

Rose followed the Doctor into the TARDIS and stood by the console while he flipped some levers. "Are we going somewhere?" Rose asked in confusion.

The Doctor shook his head. "I just thought maybe a view of the stars would be nice…..I hardly think we need any trouble right now" he said, setting the TARDIS to hover over the earth. He was focusing hard on the controls; too hard. He was staring at them when he didn't need to be staring at them. He was avoiding looking at her.

She plopped down in the pilot's chair. "I'm sorry for making this mistake" she said. She stared down at her hands. Her voice sounded strained but she hadn't meant it to. She was really trying to apologize. She was sorry she'd gotten the Doctor into this mess. He saved people's lives all over the galaxy every day; he hardly needed to be tied to the earth by some insignificant human girl from South London.

When Rose looked up the Doctor was giving her a hard look, the sort of look he gave her when he disapproved of something that she was doing. He took her hands and looked into her eyes. "I don't ever want to hear you say that again" he chided.

Rose was taken aback. "I-I just thought….you know….you wished you hadn't slept with me and now you're stuck with me and this baby" she felt tears coming on but she refused to cry again; it seemed like all she ever did these days.

The Doctor squeezed her hands. "Rose, first off…understand this. I do not wish we hadn't had that night together" he said looking into her eyes with a serious expression. "That's what you didn't let me explain. I loved what we had….I was just…." He looked off for a second. "I was just afraid of losing you….I didn't want to complicate what we had and make you want to leave one day. And…..secondly, this baby is not a mistake." He put his hand on her belly. "It's our baby"

Rose bit her lip trying to bite back the almost continual need to cry; she'd been so scared he'd react badly. Especially at first when he had accused the baby of not even being his. She let go out of his hands and reached out to hug him, glad when he returned it warmly. "You really mean that?" she asked. "You're not mad?"

The Doctor pulled back and put his hands on her cheeks, giving her a warm smile. "I'm not mad Rose…..it's just a lot to process, you know?" he rubbed her cheek. "How could I be mad at you? Especially for having a baby?" he gave her one of his goofy laughs. "I just hope I'm a good daddy"

Rose smiled. "I'm sure you will be" She leaned into his warm touch for as long as he lingered. Finally he pulled back and spoke. "You ready to have a look?" he asked.

Rose was nervous, excited and scared all rolled up into one emotion; it was about to become even more real. She nodded. "Yeah…..yeah I think I'm ready" she said.

The Doctor gave her an encouraging smile as he turned toward the console and began pressing buttons, turning the screen towards her so she could see it. The doctor fiddled with his sonic screwdriver before turning it toward Rose and using it to scan her belly. She lost her breath when the image of the small baby came onto the screen. She hadn't expected it to look anything like a real baby. She had expected one of these slightly creepy early embryo pictures that looked more like an it than a baby. But what she saw was really a little baby inside her. It had a head, legs, arms. She could see its little fingers…She didn't even try to keep her tears in anymore. She just stared at the little image of her and the Doctor's baby, hard to wrap her mind around the fact that she had a living human (or time lord) inside her growing right now. The thing she had up until this point considered an insignificant mistake had stolen her heart completely in less than a second.

When she looked over at the Doctor, he was staring at the screen with much the same awe as she had on her own face. She couldn't believe it when she saw tears silently running down his face as well. He must have sensed her looking at him because he turned toward her. "Can you believe it, Rose? That's our baby" he said in a hushed tone as if he might wake it.

Rose chocked back a sob. "It's….I…no I can't believe it" she said her voice thick with emotion. The Doctor fiddled with the sonic screwdriver and a few moments later the sound of a heartbeat could be heard. It wasn't like the sound that Rose had heard before of a baby's heartbeat. It sounded slightly off.

"Why's…..why's it sound like that?" Rose asked, fearing something might be wrong.

When the Doctor turned toward her, she'd never seen such a big smile on his face before. "It's two heartbeats" he said "Our baby is like me"

Despite the tears that were warring for her emotions, Rose couldn't help but smile broadly. Her baby was like the Doctor; up until this point the Doctor had been the only one of his species and now growing inside her was another. A child of a fallen race; the Doctor wouldn't have to be alone anymore.

Rose listened to the sound of the beating hearts, quite sure that she'd never heard a more beautiful noise before. Where once she'd had one heart beating inside her, there were now three.

The Doctor wiped at some stray tears and looked back up at the screen, the smile still on his face. "Let's see if we can tell if it's a little time lord or time lady" he said with a small laugh. He looked for a long time before turning back to Rose. He put his arms around her and rested his forehead against hers. He placed his hand on her stomach gently and said, "Congratulations, Rose. It's a time lord".

Rose was so overtaken with emotions; she wanted to cry and laugh at the same time. It was so much to take in; she was glad they were seeing all this thousands of miles away from earth, just the two of them. It was so intimate she couldn't image having someone else tell her the news that the Doctor had given her with so much emotion.

She leaned the smallest amount of distance between the two and kissed the Doctor gently, almost just a mere touch but she hoped it conveyed everything that she felt at that moment. _I love you…..I love our baby…._

_…_

Rose didn't want to go back home that night so she stayed on the TARDIS, safely suspended above the earth where the Doctor had put them. She had missed her home with the Doctor, and in light of what had happened today she couldn't bear to be separated from him.

It was late and she lay in her bed, staring at the ceiling. She was tired but she couldn't go to sleep. Her mind simply wouldn't turn off. But more than that she missed the Doctor; silly, as he was just down the hallway in his own bedroom but she did miss him extremely. These dreadful hormones might be the death of her…..

Rose got out of bed and walked down the hallway toward the Doctor's room. She knocked lightly on his door and a moment later the Doctor poked his head out. She had to laugh a bit at the sight of the Doctor in sweatpants and a t-shirt; she never actually seen him in pyjamas. He didn't seem to sleep that much. "Everything alright?" he asked with slight concern.

"Oh, yeah" Rose said dismissively. "I'm fine….I just…" she looked at him nervously, not sure how he would take her request. "Can I…..stay with you?" she asked.

He didn't say anything at first and Rose launched on. "I don't mean like that you know….I'm just….lonely. I don't want to be alone. Can I please….stay here?"

The doctor gave her a warm hug. "Of course you can" he said, opening the door for her to come in. Rose followed the doctor into his room, the room that she'd only actually seen one other time. He lay down and patted the spot beside him with a grin. Rose smiled as she walked over to the other side of the bed and slid over towards the Doctor. Not even waiting for his cue, she laid her head against his chest, one arm wrapped around him. He was silent but he must have been okay with the idea because he wrapped the blanket around her and leaned his head against hers. It didn't take long at all for Rose to drift off now.

…..

Rose fell asleep fast in his arms but the Doctor remained awake for a long time. He couldn't believe the range his emotions had overcome today from such a low to such a high. He looked at Rose, peaceful and calm in his arms. Beautiful…..she was simply beautiful in every way.; he really should tell her that sometime.

He had been terrified when Rose had told him about the baby; the idea of such responsibility was not something he wanted to think about. He had just been concerned about becoming too close to Rose and losing her like he always did. But now he was faced with the responsibility of _family. _And he didn't do _domestics. _The idea of it had seemed constricting and made him want to get in the TARDIS and run away.

But then he'd seen it; seen _him. _He had been a father before but it had been so long ago….ages…..he'd forgotten how overwhelming you felt when you came to the realization that there was really a living, growing person you had helped create. Life, in all forms, was amazing and fantastic. When it was your own child…words couldn't describe what that felt like.

The Doctor was not even remotely sure what he and Rose were going to do long term but he knew that he loved this baby. How he could love someone so much he'd never even met was still a miracle to him. But he did love the baby…..and he loved his mother. He knew he couldn't let anything hurt them; not ever.


	5. Mother's Rage

"Hey, that's mine" The Doctor whined in mock sincerity as Rose swiped the last few of his chips and popped them into her mouth with a smile.

"But I _needed _them" Rose said with a grin.

"Yeah but you already had some" The Doctor said with a pout.

"Yes but they were gone…and I knew you'd be more than happy to share with me…..with us" Rose said with a wink. She was glad when the Doctor smiled.

"I'll share with him but not you" the Doctor said as if he was still bothered though she knew he wasn't. It had been a few days since they had found out about the baby and while it was still new and strange, the initial shock had worn off. The Doctor had been staying in London while they sorted things out and Rose had been staying in the TARDIS to keep her mother from being suspicious. She knew that if the Doctor just started to hang around the flat all the time, she would be suspicious since they ran off to another planet every chance that they got. Every night Rose managed to find her way to the Doctor's room, not wanting to sleep in the coldness of her own room. They hadn't so much as kissed since they'd seen their baby and Rose had no idea what their relationship was going to be but right now she was just relived that the Doctor seemed happy about the baby and wasn't pushing her away.

Rose finished the last of the Doctor's chips and they pushed away from the table and began to walk through the mall, watching other people bustling from place to place and glancing at items in the store windows. "It seems so dull" Rose said with a smile. "No manikins trying to jump out of the store windows and kill us"

The Doctor squeezed her hand. "You're totally right….I definitely wish the manikins where coming after us….just walking through the mall almost seems domestic" he joked.

Rose glanced at the store windows as she passed them, stopping at one that was filled with baby clothes. They were so tiny; she couldn't imagine that a person could be that small. She had never really been around babies before. She didn't have any siblings and very little extended family and she had definitely never babysat before. It had occurred to her before just how little she knew about babies. She'd been terrified about it for weeks now. But what she had never considered was how small and breakable a baby was. Rose looked at the clothes and wondered how she could be scared of something so small. She put her hand on her stomach and thought about the little baby inside her, the baby with two hearts. Her _son. _

She felt a squeeze on her hand and looked over to see the doctor smiling at her. "Whatcha thinking?" he asked.

"What do you think?" Rose said looking at the baby clothes. She squeezed his hand back. "How can a person be that small?" she said as she pointed to a onesie.

"You were that small once" the Doctor said with a grin. "You were mighty cute too"

Rose laughed, almost forgetting for a minuet how the Doctor had seen her as a baby when they had went back in time to see her dad. "All babies are cute" Rose said with a shrug.

"I can assure you there are plenty of ugly babies" the Doctor said. "You were definitely not one of them. I hope our baby looks like you" He grinned at her.

Rose could feel herself blush at the compliment. "Well, I hope he looks like you" she said nudging him.

The Doctor laughed. "It's been a long time since I was a baby….who knows, I might have been one of the ugly babies" he joked.

Rose giggled. "I'm sure that's not true" she said. They stood there gazing back and forth from each other to the baby items in the window when Rose heard a distinct voice behind her.

"Rose, is that you?"

Rose turned around and felt her stomach drop slightly when he saw her mum walking toward her totting some shopping bags. Rose forced a smile on her face. "Mum…hi….what are you doing here?" she asked. She hoped that her mum hadn't overheard any of their conversation; she also hoped that her mum didn't make the connection between them standing in front of a store selling baby merchandise.

"What are you doing here?" her mum asked, looking from Rose to the Doctor. "I thought you two had left."

"Oh, well, we did" Rose lied. "We just got back actually. We just were getting some chips. We were going to drop by"

Her mum looked at her with the piercing gaze she gave Rose when she knew she was lying. "You've only been gone a few days" she said.

Rose shrugged. "Time travel mum…..I don't know what day it is most of the time" she said trying to sound innocent.

Her mum gave her a critical gaze. "Stop by the flat then, later" she said. "Stop by for tea at least? I'm sure that you are waiting to be off soon again, but stay for a little while"

Rose nodded. "Sure, mum. We'll be over for tea later" she said, feeling nervous. It was like her mother's gaze was looking through her; Rose felt like she somehow knew about the baby.

Her mum's critical gaze changed as she put a smile on her face. "Good, then I'll see you then. I've got a few more things to get and then I'll head back to the house"

Rose watched her mother walk away, making sure she had disappeared around the corner before turning back to the Doctor. "I'm not going to tea" he said simply before beginning to walk towards the mall's entrance.

Rose walked quickly after him as he walked through the mall's doors and toward the direction of the TARDIS. "Hey, wait a second" Rose said as she ran after him. The Doctor reached the TARDIS and walked in, closely trailed by Rose. "Are you running from me?" she asked as he leaned against the console and looked back at her, arms crossed but his expression was neutral. "No" he said simply. "I'm not running from you I'm just saying I'm not going to have tea with your mum"

"Why not?" Rose asked. "She knows something's up and she'll be even more suspicious if we stand her up"

"I've never sat down and had tea with your mum before and I'm not going to start now" the Doctor said stubbornly.

Rose sighed. "You know that we are going to have to tell her" she said tiredly. She sat down on the captain's chair and looked up at him. The last thing on earth she wanted to do was tell her mum about the baby but it had to be done. She and the Doctor were going to be around a lot and her mum was going to know that something was happening. For as long as she had known the Doctor she had run off with him for weeks and months at a time and only to come home for very short periods of time. When she was home, the Doctor didn't accompany her. Besides, it was only a matter of time before she started to show and then there would be no hiding it. She didn't want her mum to figure it out before she had time to tell her.

"Tell her what?" the Doctor asked, as if he genuinely had no idea what she was talking about.

"We have to tell her about the baby" Rose said. "I have to tell her I'm pregnant"

The Doctor's face turned slightly grim. "I hope you're not suggesting we tell her today" he said. He seemed slightly panicked at the idea.

Rose looked at her hands before looking back up at the doctor. "We have to tell her….today's as good as a time as any."

"You're joking right?" The Doctor said, his eyes widening.

"No" Rose said defensively. "Why do you ask?"

"Because we haven't even discussed it" the Doctor said. "You can't just rush in there without discussing it"

"Why not?" Rose asked. "She's not going to take it well no matter how I say it but maybe we just need to get it out of the way"

The Doctor shook his head. "So you're just going to waltz into tea and say, 'Hello, mum, or should I say grandma?'" he said sarcastically

Rose rolled her eyes. "Of course I'm not suggesting that….I'm just saying we have to do it. We're not going anywhere anytime soon so we need an excuse for why we are here." She put her hand on her stomach. "I'm going to start showing eventually" she looked down. "You don't have to come with me….mum will probably come after you if you don't, but you can stay here if you want."

The Doctor sighed, moving closer to her and giving her a hug. "I'm not going to do that to you" he said "Come on, let's figure out what we are going to say…..before your mum kills me that is" he joked with a small, strained laugh.

…..

Rose held tightly onto the Doctor's hand as they walked up the stairs and up to her flat. Her hand was shaking slightly as she squeezed the Doctor's and she was glad to feel the sweatiness of the Doctor's hand on her, signifying that he was just as nervous about the situation as she was.

When Rose opened the front door, she reluctantly let go of the Doctor's hand. Her mother was sitting on the couch watching television and when she heard the sound of them entering the room she turned around, giving them a smile. Rose tried to give her a normal smile but she knew that it was at least a little fake looking. "Hi, mum…..long time no see" she joked, sitting down beside her mum, the Doctor sitting on the end.

"Oh, yeah, it's just been ages" her mum joked back, giving Rose a strange smile. _Dear lord, she senses it coming, _Rose cringed mentally. Her stomach twisted and she suddenly wished that she hasn't eaten all of those chips for lunch. This wasn't going to go good…..

Her mum stood as if to make her way towards the kitchen but Rose grabbed her hand. "Mum…..uh…..before you get the tea, I need to…..talk to you…..about something" she said. Her mouth was dry and didn't want to work.

Her mother sat down, giving Rose and alarmed expression. "What is it? What trouble are you in now, Rose?" she asked, sensing the worst was coming.

Rose shook her head. "No…..oh, no…..I not in any trouble mum….I just needed to tell you something" she said, her mouth getting drier and drier as she began to sweat profusely.

Her mother gave her a wary look. "Rose, whatever it is, just tell me" she said. Her voice was strong but Rose could detect the smallest trace of her own nerves. She looked at the Doctor, who was frozen as a statue beside Rose, her mother's expression hardening when she glanced at him. If she didn't flat out know what was up, then she at the very least knew that the Doctor was involved if he was here.

Rose swallowed hard despite the fact that her mouth was dry. "Okay….well" she started, twisting her hands and looking at then instead of her mum. "You know how I've been acting a little strange….."

"More than a little strange" her mum said, "Honestly, Rose, what is it? Just tell me. I thought you were just moping over him" she pointed to the Doctor "but he's here now so what's the problem? Is he causing you problems?" she gave a predatory glance at the Doctor.

Rose looked over at the Doctor and saw him pale slightly. "No, mum, really…it's not him" she said quickly before her mother could do something like slap him. "It's me….I've been acting so strange because I'm…" the word stuck in her mouth. It was so hard to say. She had thought that it was hard to tell the Doctor, and it had been, but it was somehow even harder to tell her mum.

"What? What?" her mother urged her, obviously getting tired of the time that it was taking for Rose to respond.

"I'm pregnant" Rose said, slightly louder than she had meant to, wanting her mother to leave her alone.

Rose heard silence fall in the flat that was so deep it was almost painful after her admission. No one said a word, no one moved; it didn't even seemed like anyone was breathing, including Rose. She was waiting for the explosion, the anger, the yelling but it hadn't happened yet.

After what seemed like an impossibly long time, Rose looked up at her mum. Her face was turning red and twisting into a mask of anger, but it was obvious that she didn't even know what to say. "What?!" she asked, finally, her voice strained.

While her mother continued to grow redder and redder in the face, Rose felt what little color was remaining in her face drain. "You heard what I said, mum" she mumbled shyly, not wanting to repeat it and knowing full well that her mother heard her.

Her face was still strained; Rose wondered if her eyes might not pop out of her head. "Yeah, I hear what you said alright, but I'm thinking you've said the wrong thing" she said angrily. "Because I know you can't possibly really have meant you were pregnant!"

Rose had seen her mother angry plenty of times but she had never seen the mixture of anger and slight sadness in her eyes quite the way they were there now. "Yes, mum…..I'm sorry but you heard me right. I am pregnant" she said.

Within less than a second her mother leaned forward and gave the Doctor a smack across the face. It made the time that she had smacked him after he brought her home a year late look like a love tap. The Doctor flinched, holding his cheek but he didn't say anything. "You" she said, pointing her finger at him. "I knew this would happen. You, with your big wonderful time machine, picking up girls and promising to show them a good time, time traveling…..is this what you really do? Seduce them in that stupid blue box of yours? Knock 'em up?"

"Mum!" Rose said, drawing her mother's attention away from the Doctor who, for once, was speechless, to herself. "Stop it! Just stop it…..you're not helping anything. It's not his fault….I had a say in this too, you know."

"Look at him, though" her mum said, pointing to the Doctor, "He's old enough to know better. You, clearly are not"

"Mum, stop" Rose said, turning red at her mother's demeaning tone of voice. "I'm 19, I'm an adult"

"Really?" her mum asked, raising her eye brows. "Because you're not acting like an adult. Didn't I teach you anything about being careful?! Did you just forget everything I taught you under his powerful time spell? Or does protection not work against aliens?!"

"Stop!" Rose said, feeling her raging hormones about to overload due to the stress and embarrassment of the situation. The last thing she wanted to do was cry in front of her mother right now. "Are you just going to criticize me or are you going to support me a little here?"

"Well, it's a little hard to process Rose" her mum said, not seeming the least bit sympathetic "when your daughter tells you she's about to make you a grandmother! What happened to 'we're not a couple'?"

Rose hung her head. "We weren't" she said, glad the Doctor was sitting beside her and she didn't have to look at him. "It just happened"

" 'It just happened?" she asked, her eyes widening. "Rose, what kind of excuse is that?"

Rose could feel tears pulling at the corners of her eyes; damn hormones…..she felt like all she did was cry anymore. "It's not an excuse, it's the truth"

"You were so desperate to go back, Rose" her mother said. "so desperate to get back to him when you fell back on our doorstep that Mickey and I did everything we could to send you back and this is what you go and do?" she seemed to be looking for an answer but Rose did not give one so she kept going "What were you thinking, Rose? Is this even going to be a regular baby? He's an alien right? So it is going to be some sort of alien?"

"It's not an it" Rose said, feeling suddenly overprotective of the little Time Lord inside her. "It's a baby and he's a boy"

Her mother leaned back in her, chair, seeming overwhelmed by the situation. "Rose, I'm so disappointed" she said sadly, rubbing her forehead. "I expected more of you than this"

Rose tried to think of some snappy comeback, some hurtful thing she could say back to her mother; they'd had some awful roes before. But she could think of anything. Hearing her mother's disappoint made her feel ashamed, more ashamed than she had expected. She knew she was an adult and it didn't matter what her mother thought of the situation but it still bothered her.

Feeling all eyes on her, her own vision blurring with tears, Rose did the most immature thing she could think of and bolted out of the flat, running as fast as she could toward the TARDIS, to her other home where she would safe, the Doctor trailing quickly behind her.


	6. Bathtime

_Hi, everyone, thanks for reading and reviewing. My computer has been having massive issues (I think it may be done for) and so I had to edit this chapter on a computer with a primitive word processor. I apologize in advance if there are grammatical mistakes, I tried to catch them all. Otherwise, enjoy this chapter of pure Doctor/Rose fluff :)_

Rose sunk down deeper into the steaming water of the tub, her pruning toes barely sticking out of the water and bubbles. Rose laid her head back, closing her eyes and trying to relax in the TARDIS' ample tub. She was glad for the massive tub with its numerous relaxing options including the ability to keep the water warm despite the fact that she should have long been out of the water. Her skin was shriveled and she was sweating from the steam in the room but she was in no hurry to get out of the water. The stress of the day had frazzled her nerves and she was glad to at least be physically relaxed, even if her emotions couldn't calm.

After bolting from the flat, Rose had run as fast as she could to the comfort of the TARDIS. As she had burst through the door, she had felt a sense of concern and a breath of calm come from the ship to her. She had always had had a connection to the TARDIS, ever since she had started traveling with the Doctor. But after she had looked into the heart of the TARDIS, she had felt a deeper connection with her. It was almost like she could speak to Rose now. Not in words, but it was almost like she could _feel _words from the blue box. It was a subtle change but Rose was glad for it. It gave her a small insight into why the ship meant so much to the Doctor.

The Doctor had been hot on her heels, bursting into the ship seconds after her. She had been crying by this point and he had pulled her into his arms. She had pressed her face into his leather clad chest for a long time and cried. She was glad that he didn't press her to talk about it because she didn't want to. She was even more grateful when she had said she wanted to take a bath and be alone, he had not tried to stop her.

Rose's eyes opened and took in the expansive bathroom, thinking about the conversation with her mum for the 100th time. She and her mum had really had some awful rows before. She had never been an angel and they knew how to butt heads and exchange some awful words that they didn't mean. It really wasn't unexpected how her mum had reacted and it wasn't like it was undeserved. Rose knew that she was just ultra-sensitive considering her hormones. After all, how had she expected her mum to react? She hadn't exactly taken it well when she had first found out. She knew that she needed to apologize and she resolved to do just that first thing tomorrow and try not to worry about it until then. She knew it was a vain effort but she still had to try.

Rose's crinkled fingers came to rest on her stomach under the warm water as her thoughts drifted to the little one inside her. A few days ago she would have called this the biggest mistake she had ever made and now her heart warmed at the mere thought of what was beneath her fingertips. She had never seen herself as the type to settle down and have kids and she certainly hadn't wanted it to happen before she was even 20. But now that it had she couldn't imagine regretting it. It had been hard when the Doctor had not been here and she had been forced to carry the news herself. Ending the pregnancy had never been an option for her but she had been anything but enthusiastic about the prospects of her future. But moment that she had seen her son and saw the love the Doctor already had for him, it had given her the courage to actually fall in love with her small child.

"I've been total rubbish as a mother up until this point. But I promise I'll get better. You just gave me a bit of a surprise, you know?" Rose spoke down to her still mostly flat stomach, feeling silly and warm and fuzzy at the same moment. "I know I've thought some awful things, hope you're not a mind reader like your dad" she said with a small laugh at the Doctor's ability to seem to know exactly what she was thinking sometimes. She put her arms tighter around her middle "Because I didn't mean any of those things. I love you already" she laughed through a small choke of emotion. "Isn't that crazy? I haven't even met you yet and I already love you" And really it was. There was a time so shortly ago that she would have thought getting pregnant was the worst thing that could have happened to her. Now it was just another great adventure that she got to share with the Doctor.

There was a knock on the door that woke Rose from her musings. "Come in" she called, knowing the Doctor was probably concerned about her. The door opened a mere fraction and instead of coming in, the Doctor stayed behind the door as he called out to her. "Rose? I was just...uh, I just wanted to make sure that you were okay"

"Yeah" Rose said with honesty. "I'm doing much better now actually." She smiled as she looked at the door separating her and the Doctor. "'You can come in, you know"

There was a long pause before the Doctor said, "That's alright...actually...I'm sure there's something I need to be getting on with" he stuttered out. Rose laughed at his embarrassment. She didn't understand how a 900 year old alien who had traveled all through time and space could be such a prude. Maybe it was a time lord thing. Though he hadn't seemed at all shy that one night, she thought as her face began to warm up.

"Doctor, please. I insist" Rose called out. "It'd make me feel a lot better if I wasn't just sitting in here alone" She figured his desire to make her at ease would override his nerves.

She was not proven wrong as the Doctor slipped into the bathroom slowly. He remained by the door and though his eyes drifted to her initially he quickly looked away. "W-what do you...need?" He asked his voice cracking with nerves.

Rose smiled at his chaste response. "I don't_ need_ anything" she said. A brief idea popped into her head and she spoke before she had a chance to over think it. "Though I would like it if you joined me in here" Rose felt her stomach twist a little as the words came out of her mouth but she didn't want to take the back. She wasn't exactly nervous about her and the Doctor being naked around each other. It seemed a little ridiculous under the circumstances. However, this wasn't a common thing between them. They had been in the heat of passion, mixed with extreme relief and happiness when they had been in such a circumstance last time. But Rose wanted things to be easy between her and the Doctor. She didn't want to shy away from him and didn't want him to do the same. Thinking back on the night of their child's conception, she had to admit that she a little excited at the prospect of seeing the Doctor without his customary layers again. She hoped he took her deeply read face as coming from the steam.

The Doctors eyes widened at Roses question. "Join you? You mean in the bathtub?" He asked incredulous. She'd seen him stare down the barrel of a gun with more bravery than he looked now.

"Yes" Rose said with a teasing grin. "It's wonderfully relaxing in here. You really should try it out"

The Doctor swallowed so hard Rose could see his Adam's apple move. "I...I don't think I could." He said nervously.

Rose just had to laugh; she could make him get nervous with a mere bath suggestion. Aliens who sought out his life got less fear from him. "Why? Because you're a massive prude?" She asked, feeling emboldened by his obvious nervousness.

The Doctor looked at her fully for the first time, his face showing his overtly offended face. "Oi!" He called out "I'm no prude, Rose Tyler" he insisted.

"Prove it" Rose said, patting at the bubbles in the tub. She gave him an honest look "really Doctor, just relax with me, okay?"

She could see the warring expression on the Doctors face as he wanted to argue but found he couldn't under her gaze. He removed his shoes and jacket quickly but seemed to pause at that.

"You'll have to do better than that" Rose joked. "Might not be too comfortable with all that on"

The Doctor rolled his eyes at her but removed his jumper. He paused again as his hands fell to his belt and Rose laughed as she rolled her eyes. "Blimey! Doctor! I'm not going to bite" Rose joked before winking at him. "Unless you want me to"

The Doctors face turned a deep shade of red before quickly undue his belt, removing his trousers and pants. He got into the tub quickly, sinking into the water on the other side of the enormous tub.

Rose smiled as she lay back in the water and looked at him. "See, I told you...just what you need after a stressful day"

The Doctor huffed and rolled his eyes "it's not that great" he said though he was highly unconvincing considering he let out a deep sigh a moment later as he slid down deep into the water.

Rose wondered idly how often he allowed himself to slow down enough to take a bath like this. Probably never, Rose thought. This immaculate bathroom was probably just for the benefit of companions. Rose was relaxing against the side of the tub, watching the Doctor when he broke the silence.

"She didn't really mean that, you know" he said softly. He was gazing at her with a soft expression.

"What?" Rose asked.

"Your mum" the Doctor said "the things that she said today, she didn't mean it" Roses disbelief must have showed on her face because the Doctor continued. "She was just upset. She still sees a little girl when she looks at you. She's not mad, just upset. She probably cried more than you did after we left"

Rose knew deep down inside that he was right. It had been an emotionally charged moment for everyone. "I know...I was just being childish"

The Doctor shook his head. "You weren't being childish" he said firmly. "You were upset too. It's only understandable. Though really it should be me who's upset" he said with mock sincerity as he touched his cheek. "You're mum beat me senseless"

Rose laughed at his wounded expression. She splashed him across the tub. "It's not like you had that far to go" she teased back. He looked at her in surprise as he wiped the water from his face.

"Oh yeah?" He asked as he splashed her back. Rose laughed as the water hit her square in the face. She splashed him more forceful this time and she found that the stress of the day melted away quickly as the bathroom was splattered with water and filled with the sound of laughter.


	7. The Doctor's Second Chance

_As always, thanks so much to you all that are reading and reviewing :) This chapter, lets get a glimpse into more of what the the Doctor is feeling ;)_

Rose was almost asleep when she heard the sound of the credits on the movie playing. She still couldn't believe that after her and the Doctor's water fight and shared bath she had actually got him to agree to do something else domestic. She had suggested, almost jokingly, that they watch a movie together as she didn't feel like going to sleep yet though she just wanted to relax. She was flabbergasted when the Doctor had agreed. They had shyly emerged from the tub and put their dressing gowns on, though Rose had smiled to herself when she caught the Doctor sneaking a peak at her when he thought she wasn't looking.

Rose had went back to her own room on the TARDIS, one that she found herself less and less frequently using, and changed into her pyjamas before returning to the Doctor's room. She smiled a little when she saw him lying back on his bed, dressed down in his own pyjamas. Though she had slept in his room the past few nights, he hadn't slept himself since the first night she went to his room. Seeing him in something other than his jumpers and leather was strange but she liked it; it made her aware that he was loosening up.

She had found herself getting more and more fatigued as the movie went on and by the end she had almost drifted off. Her head lay on the Doctor's chest, warm in a cocoon of his own body heat mixed with hers. Her head moved slightly each time he breathed in, almost in a way to rock her to sleep.

"Rose, what do you want to do?"

The Doctor's soft voice in the dark of the room called out to her and woke Rose just enough to speak back to him. "Right now I want to sleep" she said with a smile.

"No...I mean...about the baby"

Now Rose was awake. Her stomach twisted nervously as she opened her eyes and turned so that she could see his face in the glow of the telly. This could be a good thing, discussing the baby. After all, they really hadn't discussed several things that they needed to. But Rose's mind automatically went to the worst case scenario. "W-what...about the...baby?" Rose asked, working all of her energy into not sounding as nervous as she felt. What if he said he didn't want to do this? What if he didn't want to be tied down by her and the baby? Dark thoughts, like the ones that she had had before he had returned, popped into her head and would not stop.

The Doctor's face was calm and didn't betray what he might be about to say. "Well...I mean...what do you want to do? Do you want to settle down? Get a house and all that?" he asked. She detected the slightest trace of nerves in his own voice. Rose knew that he did not want her to say yes. She knew how he felt about domestics and knew he wouldn't want to be tied down to a single house in a small part of the Earth. Rose hadn't given it much thought, but now that she did, she knew she didn't want that either. She didn't really want things to change; she knew that some things would change inevitably with a baby. But she couldn't imagine a better place for a young time lord to grow up than on the TARDIS, traveling the universe. And what house could be safer than the TARDIS? It was already her home and she wanted it to be the home for her new family.

"No...I don't want that" Rose said earnestly, looking into his eyes. "I can't imagine, after all the things that I've done and seen, going back to staying put on Earth. I want to stay with you" She smiled at him. "And if you think you're leaving me and the baby at home while you go off and travel, you're mental"

She said it with jest but deep down it was a fear that gnawed away at her insides. What if the Doctor did get bored with this and left her behind? She didn't know how she could cope not only with him leaving her but having to raise their child on her own.

The Doctor smiled at her. "I don't plan on leaving you behind" he said warmly and Rose felt some of her nerves dissipate before he got serious again. "I just...want to make sure that you and the baby stay safe. There's so much danger out there...my priority is keeping you two safe"

Rose's heart was warmed by the Doctor's obvious concern of her and the baby. He seemed very worried about them staying safe and Rose loved his protectiveness. "We will be safe" Rose said, "Can you imagine a safer place for us than the TARDIS? It's much safer than a normal home"

She was glad when the Doctor nodded. "I suppose you're right" he said with a smile. He pulled her closer to him and Rose sighed in relief. The Doctor remained quiet after this and it was not long before Rose drifted off to a peaceful sleep.

...

Long after Rose had gone to sleep, the Doctor remained awake. He was troubled and excited and a mess of other emotions he didn't even want to try to place his finger on. He didn't want Rose to know exactly how much he was already worried about the safety of her and the baby. She had enough to worry about and if he showed fear and weakness, then she would quickly follow suit. Besides, he didn't want to admit to her exactly why he was so fearful of losing his family in the first place. He didn't want her to know the pain he had already experienced in his long life.

The Doctor gazed down at the peaceful form of Rose laying on him. She looked positively beautiful, her face calm, her rumbled blonde hair drifting across her forehead. He knew she was worried about him leaving; he could sense the worry emanating off her more than once. He had no intentions of doing such a thing; he did not want to leave her or his son. He just feared it would be his danger and demons that would put them in jeopardy. It had happened once before; no reason such a thing couldn't happen again.

The Doctor pulled the covers back and lifted Rose's shirt up slightly to show her stomach. He placed his hand on her soft skin and opened his mind to the small time being inside of her. He had scanned Rose and had seen their child the day he had come back but he hadn't allowed himself to connect with his child on this level yet, one that only he could. He saw in his mind everything about the growing form beneath his fingers. He could see cells splitting in rapid fashion, going to make all different organs and vital systems. He could hear the beating his small hearts, strong despite their miniscule size. He could see and almost feel the strength of the bond between the baby and Rose as blood pumped from her to

him. It was amazing...simply amazing, the way a baby was created, how much was going on just barely below the skin. He reached out his mind toward the rapidly developing one of his son and let all of his love pour out to him. While his son couldn't yet respond in the way that he would soon be able to, the way that only time lords could speak to each other, he felt his son's heart rate rapidly increase at the emotions that the Doctor sent his way.

The Doctor's heart skipped a beat at the amazing feeling, for once in a long time, truly overwhelmed by something.

The Doctor eventually let his attention fall from his son and back to Rose. He reached out and sensed all of her bodily systems. He was relieved to see that everything was functioning as it should be. Rose's body was healthy and managing the pregnancy well. Her emotional state however, was another matter. Rose's sleep was peaceful but just underneath the surface he could sense the worry. Rose believed him when he had said that he didn't plan to leave her. There was, however, a corner of her mind that couldn't let go of the worry that he would leave her. A little deeper into her consciousness he could sense the worry had started when she had been waiting for him come back. It pained him to think about the pain that she had been in, pregnant and alone, fearing he was angry and that he didn't want her. Feeling a spark of something fantastic in his brain, he had an idea of just what he could do to show Rose he meant what he said.

The Doctor put Rose's shirt back in place and pulled the covers up to her chin. He slid out from under her, as gentle as he could so that she didn't wake up. He turned the telly off and slipped out of the dark bedroom and into the hallway of the TARDIS. His bare feet were cold against the floor as he walked down the hallway but he was warmed and invigorated by the idea that was blossoming in his head. He walked down the rarely used corridors and stopped at the door he sought. He paused for a moment, knowing that at least this part of his plan was going to hurt.

The Doctor pushed the door open and walked into the dark and dusty room, scanning the mounds of aging items he chose not to see on a daily basis for the one he sought out. In the corner of the room, exactly where he knew it would be, he saw it and felt a war of happiness and anguish.

The Doctor sat down on the floor beside the small, ancient cradle. To a human it would look like something from Earth's medieval period; the worn wood of the cradle spoke of age and long ago born children. Circular symbols criss- crossed along the side of the cradle; while Rose would know the marks were Gallieyfrean, she would have no idea of meaning behind them, nor did he want her to. A mobile of metal stars and planets hung above the cradle, no better a sign to inspire the sleeping time lord underneath them.

The Doctor's throat tightened as he dusted the cradle off. He refused to cry but honestly the reason for him not letting the tears out was because he was afraid if he did, he might not be able to stop. Years of pain and anguish and a million regrets would rush out of him and he wasn't sure that he could manage the pain. But that didn't mean that the memories didn't still come and gnaw away at his stomach.

Him and Rose's son would not be the first of the Doctor's children to sleep beneath that shiny mobile. He put his hand to the cradle and began to slowly rock it, as he had done so long ago. How many late nights had he spent trying to lull a crying baby to sleep in this crib before weakening and falling asleep with a little one on his chest? How many nights had his dreams and the innocent, calm ones of his children mingled as they slept?

How long it had been since he had been a father. He missed his children dearly despite the time that had passed since their deaths. He didn't think he would ever fully get over the loss of them. He had done what no father should have to do; he had buried all of his children long before his time. The wave of emotion that came to him as he relived the deaths of his children in his mind was enough to cripple him.

But there was a light in the darkness; a big, bright shining light. He was going to be a father again. He got a second chance to do the right thing this time. The Doctor had not imagined that he would ever be a father again. After the loss of his family he had resolved to never open himself to that pain again. Even now, he was given a terrific chance at parenthood again, not through his own planning but by accident. A wonderful, fantastic accident. The Doctor pushed the thoughts of death and sadness out of his mind as he let himself imagine what could be.

The Doctor had a wide, genuine smile on his face as he pushed up from the floor and carried the cradle out of the room and down the corridors. The TARDIS was bristling in excitement for him as she sensed his plans. The Doctor smiled. "I'm glad you approve" he spoke to his female ship who was very much in agreement to what he was going to do. "Because I'm going to need your help"


	8. Chapter 8

Rose woke the next morning, her mind slightly muddled from her dreams. It was an odd dream, though not what she would call a nightmare. In fact, she hadn't even been able to remember much about it. It had been bright and dark at the same time, leaving her feeling hot and dizzy at the same time. Rose lay in bed and shook her head to dissolve the dream; plenty of women had strange dreams when they were pregnant and she figured this was just a new symptom she had to get used to.

Rose dressed slowly, feeling tired and slightly nauseous, though that was a feeling she was long used to by now. By the time she was fully dressed and ready for the day, most of her nausea was gone and her thoughts had turned to the events of the day. She knew that she had to speak to her mum about what had happened yesterday and she was ready to do that sooner rather than later.

Rose walked through the hallways and to the console room, surprised to not find the Doctor. It was quiet and things were never quiet around the Doctor. She resisted the urge to find him and see what he was doing; he was after all a grown man and he didn't need looking after. No doubt he was simply tinkering like he usually was and would find her when he was done.

Besides, Rose was sure that the Doctor didn't want to be anywhere near the emotional exchange she and her mum were no doubt about to have.

Feeling slightly nervous but encouraged by the Doctor's so sure assurance that her mother wasn't angry at her, Rose walked out the blue wooden doors of the TARDIS and out into the cool morning air. The sun was shining brightly and Rose felt her spirits rise, thinking about the events of the day before. As stressful as it had been to tell her mum she was pregnant, she knew that given a little time, she would come around. She also couldn't help but smile when she thought about the evening that she had shared with the Doctor; the shared, playful bath, the easy domestics of watching telly and the most important thing. The conversation that she had had with the Doctor had helped to relieve some of her fears. The Doctor wasn't going to leave her and they were both in agreement that the best thing for them was to stay together and travel as a family.

Rose walked up the stairs and was feeling lighter as she unlocked the door of the flat she shared with her mum. When she walked into the sitting room, Rose saw her mum sitting on the couch in her pyjamas and dressing gown, her eyes tired as she stared sadly at the telly. Rose felt a pang of guilt; not just because she was sad she had upset her mum with her news of the baby, but she wondered how many other times her mum had been in a similar state when Rose had run off with the Doctor.

Her mum didn't notice her entrance, so Rose walked in and cleared her throat. "Mum" she called out tentatively. Her mum's head whipped around on the couch. The wide smile that broke across her face when she saw Rose was completely undeserved, she mused.

"Rose! Oh my God, I'm so glad to see you" her mum said warmly as she got off the couch and walked to Rose, throwing her arms around her. Rose gladly returned the embrace. "I thought you'd left"

"I'm sorry mum" Rose said, relief flooding through her that her mum was indeed, not angry with her. "I shouldn't have run off like that. I just got upset and...I didn't know what to say"

Her mum gripped her arms as she pulled back from the hug. "Oh, sweetheart, don't apologize" she chided. "You have nothing to be sorry about. I should have been more understanding. I was so harsh...of course you ran off. That was my fault"

"I'm fine mum...don't feel bad" Rose said. "Of course you were upset...I know I was upset when i first found out. I should have given you more time to adjust. I'm just...hormonal" she said, slightly embarrassed. Her mother gave her a warm smile. "Of course you are sweetheart" she gave her a knowing look. "I've been there...I know how it is. Please, lets sit down at have a proper chat about this?"

Rose nodded, feeling relaxed already. "Yeah, mum...that sounds great" she said. She followed as her mum as she turned the telly off and sat down on the couch. Rose sat beside her, feeling at ease but still at a loss of what to say. She was glad when her mum broke the silence.

"Oh, Rose...why didn't you tell me sooner?" She asked. "It must have been terrible, holding all that in"

Rose shrugged. "Mum...I couldn't tell you" she said. "It was such a shock to me...I didn't want to believe it for a long time. I didn't know what I was gonna do. The Doctor wasn't here...I didn't know if he was coming back. Before I talked to him...I was scared to death"

Her mum looked sad. "Rose, I could have helped you. You didn't need to be scared alone"

"I never wanted to have a baby" Rose said honestly. "It was really the last thing I wanted.I didn't want to admit it was actually happening. And I had no idea what the Doctor would say or do if he knew. Eventually I would have to tell you...but I really wanted to tell him first."

"How did he react?" her mum asked, motherly concern rising in her voice. Rose smiled inwardly; she was about to be a mother herself and yet her own mum was ready to stand up and defend her.

"He's been great, mum. Really he has; you don't have to worry about him" Rose said with a grin. "I was scared to death to tell him. I didn't know how he would react. He was a little shocked at first...but he's been great. He's taking care of us...he really is"

Her mum smiled, seemingly glad that she didn't have to step in take vengeance out on the Doctor. Her face turned confused after a moment though. "Rose...how did this all happen?" she asked. "I thought you said you two weren't...like that"

Rose hesitated before answering; it wasn't a question that had an easy answer. Rose herself didn't even know the answer to it. She wished that there was a simple answer to it, but like everything that had to do with the Doctor, it wasn't simple. Rose loved the Doctor, that much she did know to be true. She had always felt strongly for him, but she didn't know when her feelings had turned into the love she now felt for him, tearing at her heart. When the Doctor had sent her away in the TARDIS and stayed behind at Satellite 5, her true feelings had suddenly become all too aware to her. Her heart had been torn in two as she really thought she would never see the Doctor again, fearing he was dead. The pain had simply been too much to bear; the thought that she might die trying to save him was not enough to stop her from trying. A life on Earth without him was no longer possible. Somewhere along the line he made his way into her heart even if he didn't know it and she would rather die trying to save him than face life without him. That's when she had known that things between them had changed. She knew she just wanted to be closer to him, to have the kind of relationship that everyone already thought they did have.

But she had no idea where he stood on the matter. She knew that the Doctor cared for her, that much was obvious. Though she had initially thought that the passion that they had shared meant nothing to him, she now knew that it did mean something to him and he didn't regret it. She thought of the way he had clung to her and looked deep into her eyes as if he could see into her very soul that night and knew deep down he cared for her. But love...that was an entirely different matter. She didn't know if he loved her in the way that she loved him. He hadn't been pushing her away anymore, but he also seemed to avoid any small attempt Rose had made to talk about their relationship or address the issues that they had been avoiding. Rose wondered, if she had not been pregnant, might the Doctor not have wanted to forget the whole thing even happened?

"We're not...well...I guess we...I dunno, mum" Rose said in confusion. She couldn't explain it to herself much less her mum. "We've never been...you know, together. We've just always been companions, traveling together. But somewhere along the way...I started to feel different. I didn't even really know until I thought I would never see him again." She looked down at her hands in her lap. "I love him, mum. I really do. When I finally made it back to him...I was so relieved. He was alive, he was fine...I thought he was going to die and he was completely fine. He thought he was going to die...he never imagined that I would come back to see him. We were so happy to see each other...it just kind of happened" Rose felt her cheeks turn red and she was glad that her mother didn't press any more details.

Her mum seemed lost in thought for a moment before she said, "Well, I can tell you one thing, Rose. You need to tell him how you feel. That daft old alien will never figure it out on his own...men never do, they are oblivious"

Rose laughed. "I wish it was that easy" she said, her smile fading. Rose knew that the Doctor cared about her but she didn't know if he loved her. If she said that she loved him and he didn't return those feelings, she didn't think that she could take the rejection.

Her mum touched her arm. "Rose, it can be that easy" she said softly. "I know its hard...and as much as I sometimes want to ring that man's neck, he loves you. I can see it in the way he looks at you. Blimey, anyone could see it"

Rose laughed, a blush deepening on her cheeks. "You're just making that up" she said in disbelief. She wanted to believe that but it surely couldn't be true. If it was that obvious, she would have seen it.

Her mum rolled her eyes. "Well, of course you can't see it...but trust me, Rose. Its there" she said with sincerity. Rose smiled at her mum, feeling something warm and hopeful spring up inside her.

_Thank goodness these two mothers have repaired their relationship :) Now if only Rose and the Doctor can be open with each other! _


	9. Chapter 9

The Doctor paced around the TARDIS console nervous excitement running through him. For the tenth time, he considering trying to go find Rose, but once more dismissed the idea. He knew that she was talking to Jackie and that she needed that right now. It would do him no good to find her and then end up sitting around waiting for them to end their discussion. He was just eager for her to get back and see the surprise that he had made for her.

The Doctor had spent all night and most of the morning working on it, along with a lot of help from the TARDIS. He could even feel the excitement from the TARDIS at the new surprise. She made her approval of Rose and his new situation known and he could even feel her persistence that he make things right between him and Rose. He knew that he should tell Rose how he felt, that he should stop skirting around the edges of their relationship but he just felt stuck. He knew if he told Rose how he felt, then it would cross that invisible barrier that he always insisted be up with his companions. To admit love, to give yourself fully over to it meant that it would hurt all the more when it was over.

It had been one of the hardest things he had ever done to send Rose away that day at Satellite 5. He had told her that it was better for them both to not have said goodbye but the real reason that he didn't tell her goodbye was because if he had stopped to think about what he was doing, what he was losing, he would have not done it. Losing Rose had ripped his insides out; if he had not been so consumed with the work that he was doing in eliminating the Daleks, he would have been utterly consumed by his loss. He knew that he loved Rose; he had known that for quite a long time. But to admit he loved her, to enjoy the closeness that could come from a romantic relationship would make the bond between them so much deeper, better. But when Rose was taken from him, as she inevitably would be, it would hurt him too much to go on.

He also could admit to himself an even more selfish reason for not wanting to admit his love for Rose. If he and Rose were to have an intimate relationship on a regular basis, then she would be able to see him for who he truly was. Rose liked the person he was on the outside; but if she could see the horrible, war torn man he truly was, she would not want to be with him. She knew his planet and his people were gone and she felt pity for him for that. What would she think if she knew that the reason they were gone was because of him? Would she look at him with such adoration if she knew that he was responsible for the death of all the time lords? How long would it take before she would run from the blood on his hands? He couldn't lose her that way.

The Doctor was deep in thought when he heard the door of the TARDIS behind him. Burying his dark thoughts inside him and feeling the excitement of his surprise for Rose rise up again, he turned toward her with a smile. She walked toward him, her cheeks red from the cold wind outside, a smile on her face. Her mood was calm and he felt relief; the talk with Jackie had been just what she needed.

"Hey, stranger" Rose said with a grin, walking up to him and leaning on the TARDIS console. "What have you been up to this morning? It was so quiet this morning I thought you might have disappeared"

Rose's smile stretched from ear to ear, her hair in loose braids, falling close to her pink cheeks. _God, does she do this on purpose? _He wondered as he was momentarily overtaken by how beautiful she looked. He pulled himself together and formulated his thoughts into a different train of thought. "I could ask you the same thing" he said playfully back. "I've been here the entire time. You on the other hand have been gallivanting around the town all morning" he teased.

Rose giggled in the cute way that almost was his undoing. "I haven't been gallivanting" she said "I was talking to my mum"

"Oh" The Doctor said as if it was news to him. "So...how'd that go?"

"It went really good" Rose said with a pleasant look on her face. "you were right...she wasn't mad at me. She was really upset actually. But we had a good talk...she's going to be there for me"

The Doctor grinned at her broadly. "See...I told you it would be alright. She was never mad, just a bit shocked. That's why she lashed out so violently toward me"

Rose giggled. "You're never gonna let that go, are you?" she said. "Just because she's not mad at me doesn't mean she won't still be mad at you, you know"

"Why? I didn't do anything" The Doctor said in mock innocence.

"Really?" Rose asked, raising her eyes brows and giving him a suggestive smile. The Doctor felt his already compromised feelings turning in a dangerous direction and he quickly changed the subject.

"Hey...I've got a little surprise for you" He said with a broad smile.

A grin pulled at Rose's face and she looked as excited as a kid on Christmas. "Really? What is it?" she asked excitedly.

"Well, let me show you" The Doctor said, reaching out for Rose's hand. She grinned at him and took his hand eagerly. The Doctor began to half walk, half run down the hallway, pulling Rose with him like they had done so many times in the face of danger, though they now had a much more pleasant destination.

The Doctor stopped at a door that was directly beside his (and Rose's now as well) room, a door that had not been there yesterday. "This room 's never been here before" Rose said as they stopped outside of it.

"You're right about that" The Doctor said, his hand paused on the doorknob. "Its completely new and completely a surprise."

"Well, what's in there?" Rose asked, bouncing on the heels of her feet, desperate to get in the new room. The Doctor smiled at her as he opened the newly made room. Rose walked in beside the Doctor, her mouth falling open as she took in the sight around her.

"Doctor..." Rose gasped, a look of awe on her face as she looked around. She seemed to want to say more but the words seemed to be stuck.

The Doctor stayed by Rose's side as she began to walk around the nursery he had created. Knowing how much Rose feared that the Doctor would leave her and the baby, he had wanted to assure her that there was a place here for her and their child. And what better way to do that than to give the baby his very own place, right next to their place. The Doctor was not an expert on nurseries and babies (Rose would still have plenty of things to add to the room, no doubt) but the TARDIS had helped him with her vast knowledge. The room was painted in pale blue colors, the room illuminated mostly by a constellation of real-life looking stars that dotted the ceiling of the room. Scenes from both human and Galliefreyan nursery rhymes were painted across the walls in calm pastel colors (purely the TARDIS' doing) and the wooden floor of the room was mostly covered by a large rug that displayed the planets in Rose's solar system.

On one side of the room was a rocker, the old cradle of his sitting beside it. On the other side of the room was a dresser and a crib for when their son grew too big for the cradle. In the center of the room was a large window that the TARDIS had programmed to show different scenes, any landscape from any world one could imagine. Right now it displayed the silver trees, red grass and burnt orange sky of his own home world, pulling at his own heartstrings in this emotionally charged moment.

"Oh, Doctor" Rose said, her voice cracking with emotion, still looking around in awe. "Its...its beautiful"

The Doctor smiled at her. "I'm glad you like it" he said, warmth filling him at her response. He wanted her to know he was serious was about his responsibility of fatherhood.

"I love it" Rose said emotionally, her eyes appearing to fill with tears. She knelt down beside the old cradle, running her hands over the worn wood and Gallifreyan symbols. She looked up at him. "Was...was this yours?" she asked.

The Doctor didn't want to lie to her but at the same time he didn't want to turn the moment that should be about their child into a discussion about the children he'd had before. He would tell her before their son was born, but now was not the time. "Yes" he said, forcing a smile. "that's why it looks as old as time" he joked. Rose gave him a smile as she stood up and walked around the room to the big picture window. Looking out at the beautiful landscape she said, "How's there a window on the TARDIS?"

The Doctor walked over to the window seat and sat down in front of where she stood. "A little trick she had worked up her sleeve" he said, gesturing to the window around him. "Nice touch I think...it can be changed to whatever you want it to be, just give it a thought and she'll make it so. Anywhere, anytime you can possibly imagine"

Rose gazed out at the orange sky. "So...where is this?" she asked.

The emotion got to the Doctor and made his voice crackle. "Gallifrey" he said simply. Rose's eyes quickly tore away from the window and met the Doctor's eyes. The tears that had been contained began to slowly roll down her face. "Its...so...beautiful" she said sincerely. A sob escaped her throat. "W-what brought this all on?" she asked, gesturing to the room.

The Doctor reached out and took Rose's hands in his own. She looked down at him, tears of happiness glistening in her eyes. "Rose...I wanted you to know, without a doubt that I don't plan on leaving. You're...important to me. You...our child...you're my family. I don't want to leave you behind. This is where you and our baby belong; I wanted to make sure that you knew that. I need you"

The Doctor meant every word that he said; he wanted that doubt that plagued Rose deep down to be eased. He could never leave her; she was his companion, his family, his savior. She had come along and saved him from himself when he was a broken, damaged man and had made him feel and love again.

Rose's face displayed disbelief at first and then...something he couldn't read. She opened her mouth as if to speak, but then closed it as she did the last thing the Doctor expected her to do. She leaned in placed her lips against his.

The touch was light, gentle and dangerous; the Doctor felt his breath catch in his throat. The Doctor prided himself on wonderful self control but one touch from Rose could unravel all his barriers. _Just one small touch..._

But of course it wasn't that easy; one taste, one touch couldn't be enough. The Doctor knew he should stop himself, but he didn't want to. Rose's hands went to his head, moving her fingers through his short hair as her lips began to move more persistently against his. A sigh escaped his throat but was caught by Rose's mouth as her lips parted to kiss him deeper. The Doctor followed her capable lead and captured her searching mouth with his own. As he wrapped his arms around her, he was surprised by her boldness as she climbed on his lap, causing him to fall back against the window.

He felt almost intoxicated by everything that was Rose as his senses were heightened as his own arousal caused his body to flood with hormones. Everywhere Rose touched, from her lips on his to her hands on his head and neck made his skin tingle. He could taste a mix of tea, milk and fruity lip balm as her lips and tongue touched his own. And her scent...that alone was enough to send him over the edge. She had always had a wonderful, sweet scent but now it was completely overwhelming. The pregnancy was causing her to give off an almost constant supply of hormones that had not gone unnoticed by him. And though he couldn't explain why, she almost had the scent now of time lord. He supposed that it had to do with their time lord son growing inside her, but whatever the reason, he knew it made it even harder for the Doctor to resist.

The Doctor held one arm against Rose's back, holding her against him, pressing their fast beating hearts against each other. His other hand went to her hair, running his fingers through it as the lose braids became undone. She clung to him as if he was a life saver and he never wanted to let go. Suddenly a deep, urgent need clawed at him to reach out to her mind with his own; he could feel the softness and warmness of her consciousness close to his own and it would be so easy. _Just one touch..._but this was not one touch he could allow. To do so was a very serious, intimate thing, not something that could be undone. And it certainly was not something that could be done without consent.

The Doctor's head was in a fog of desire that he didn't want to pull himself out of; it felt so good, so right, for them to be this way. But somehow he did manage to emerge from the cloud of what he wanted and came to his senses. His desire was becoming increasingly obvious and he didn't know how Rose, who was sitting on his lap, didn't notice; if she did, she was making no motion to stop. He knew if he didn't stop soon, there would be no stopping and he didn't want to have a discussion similar to the one they'd had after the last time they'd been intimate. The Doctor wanted the next time they did such a thing to be after he had told her he loved her. And he wasn't sure when, or if, he could do that.

The Doctor pulled back reluctantly and slowly so Rose didn't get the impression he was pushing her away. As their broken contact, he looked into Rose's eyes which were so close to his own. He was glad to see a smile on her face. She gave him a grin before laying her head on his shoulder as they both fought to catch their breath. She placed a hand against one of his hearts, no doubt feeling the rapid pace of its beating and breathed out, "I need you too"


	10. Chapter 10

**_We're going jump forward a bit in time :) 3 months have now passed since Rose and the Doctor have discovered their soon to be bundle of joy. See how they're taking it, from both of their perspectives. _**

_Pain, suffering, the loss of so many things from so many people pressed in on her and made her heart hurt. How could one person possibly bear this pain and live? She didn't know because she felt like she couldn't bear it. Afire had begun inside her and was gaining heat and speed, consuming her from the inside out. Events she had never lived and things she had never seen burst in front of her eyes as the fire burned out of her body and ripped her apart, threatening to consume her forever._

_..._

Rose jerked awake in bed suddenly, sweating and shaky. The Doctor, who was sitting beside her, tinkering with some device she couldn't identify while she had slept, turned toward her quickly, knowing by now her abrupt wake up meant that she had had nightmare.

"Are you okay, Rose?" The Doctor asked in concern, one hand helping her sit up while his other hand went instinctively to her rapidly developing baby bump.

Rose's heart was racing and her breath still racing but otherwise she was fine. "Yeah...yeah, I'm alright" she said quietly, sitting up and leaning back against the headboard.

"Nightmares?" The Doctor asked, turning on his side to face her. Already he knew without her answer that she had had a nightmare. It wasn't exactly an uncommon occurrence.

"Yeah...but I'm alright" Rose said, catching her breath and giving the Doctor a reassuring smile. When he smiled back, she felt herself calm and the nightmare dissipate.

Rose was now going on her sixth month of pregnancy and though she had grown used to some of her symptoms, they never ceased to surprise her. All of the changes that her body and her life had undergone in such a small time were both amazing and frightening. The nightmares she had begun to have shortly after becoming pregnant had continued the entire pregnancy, increasing in their severity as time went on. She couldn't ever remember much about them when she had woken, they just left her feeling panicked and scared.

Rose gasped a little as she felt a sudden and very persistent nudge from the inside of her womb. "Oh...well, someone else is awake now" Rose said, putting her hand on her belly as she felt the now familiar movement of their son.

The Doctor smiled broadly as he put his hand on Rose's stomach. He gave a small laugh as he felt the movement. "Yes, you are quite awake now. Don't you know its much past your bedtime? Well, I can't say I blame you...I don't sleep all that much either."

Rose laughed; she had a feeling little Pete (well, she had grown accustomed to calling him Pete. The Doctor did not seem sold on the name yet, but Rose was getting tired of having nothing to call him. Besides, she really did think it would be a nice name.) was going to be exactly like his dad. He was _very _active most of the time. It had freaked Rose out the first time that she had felt him stirring inside her. Having never been pregnant, she had no idea what to make of the 'd even had the Doctor scan her to make sure that nothing was wrong; she could still remember how much he had smiled when he had told her there was absolutely nothing to worry about, their baby was just making his presence known. Ever since then she had felt him swimming around, flip flopping and poking at her almost non-stop. If his dad was any indication, he would never stop.

Rose smiled down at the Doctor as he pulled up her shirt and put his warm hand against her skin. "You better calm down so your mother can get some sleep" The Doctor cooed down at her belly, exactly as if the baby could understand him. She felt that twinge of embarrassment still when he would expose her belly; she was not the least bit comfortable with that part of being pregnant. She was quickly finding all of her clothes tight and she just felt..._big. _The Doctor and her had become more and more open with each other but in the area of their physical relationship, nothing had changed and she was becoming more and more self conscious. She had tried to bring it up a few times; she wanted to know how the Doctor felt about this. About _her. _But he would always change the subject and Rose had not initiated such a conversation in a while. She couldn't understand how he could be so open and wonderful about their new family, doting over the baby almost constantly, and yet not feel anything for her. She had thought in the beginning that by now they would have crossed that bridge. But now, more than half way through the pregnancy, Rose was beginning to worry that when this baby was born, his parents would still be 'just friends'. Rose wasn't sure how much more she could take of it; it was hard, so very hard, to cuddle against him every night and yet never let herself go more than just simple touches. She loved the Doctor and she wanted to be closer to him. But it seemed that he didn't share those thoughts.

But despite the mixed feelings she had about how the Doctor felt about her, Rose knew without a doubt how he felt about their son. It was obvious that he was one hundred percent, completely in love with him. He was constantly scanning Rose to get a look at their growing son, rubbing her belly and cooing to him, often talking to him at length about whatever it was he was doing, usually describing the intricacy of the TARDIS and time travel to his budding little time lord. And it seemed that the Doctor didn't once leave the TARDIS without coming back with something to add to little Pete's nursery. She would often wake at night to find him awake beside her, reading a book and he would quickly recite to her some amazing baby development fact he had just discovered. She wanted for nothing in the pregnancy; she only had to wince in discomfort and he would be on her at once, rubbing her feet or back which so often plagued her now. He made sure she always had whatever strange foods her body now craved and a nice, relaxing warm bath was drawn for at the end of almost every day to sooth her aching muscles. He had risen to his responsibility of fatherhood better than she could have imagined.

But still Rose knew he was yearning for more. Sometimes she would see a sad look in his eyes as he gazed at the controls of the TARDIS or wake to find him staring off into space sadly. He would smile the second that he noticed her watching but she just wondered how much pain he was hiding. She knew he wanted to be among the stars again, that he desired adventure and excitement. When she had suggested they go somewhere, though, he had been adamant that they not travel while Rose was pregnant. But she knew that it was killing him not to and she just hoped he didn't get too bored. That the excitement that he had felt for this new family life continued and he didn't feel the need to run off somewhere without her.

But for right now, in this simple moment she was just going to enjoy the sight of the Doctor fully engrossed in talking to their son, explaining to him how humans needed more sleep than he did.

"So you really need to calm down for a few more hours at least" The Doctor explained to his son. "You're mother needs to sleep now; when she wakes up, though, you can fully entertain her with your acrobats"

Rose giggled at his serious tone and marveled as a few seconds later she felt the baby calm down. "He's actually calming down" Rose said, surprised.

The Doctor smiled. "Of course he is" he said. "I'm great with babies"

Rose smiled; she was too tired to argue. "Yes, you do seem you have the magic touch" She agreed. She slid down, laying against the pillow, feeling tired now that her nightmare had dissipated and Pete had calmed down. The Doctor pulled the covers around her tightly. The last thing she saw before she closed her eyes and sleep claimed her again, was the delightful smiling face of her Doctor.

...

Long after Rose had gone to sleep, the Doctor laid in the bed beside her, turned on his side, propped up on one arm so that he could watch Rose while she slept. He could count her breaths, how many times her eyelids moved in her sleep and still be fully aware of how wonderfully beautiful she was. The Doctor smiled as he put his hand on Rose's stomach in her sleep and opened his mind toward his son. The second his mind touched his son's, he felt excitement touch him as he moved in Rose's womb.

_Hello, there, little one, _the Doctor reached out with his mind, _I know you're excited but you need to stay still in there. Mummy is sleeping._

His son flip flopped, reluctant to stop moving, though he did relent after a moment. A flash of Rose's mind touched the Doctor through his son.

_Yes, Mummy is so tired. You have to let her sleep. I know you're not tired...mummy needs more sleep than you, _The Doctor spoke through his mind.

The sound of Rose's voice, the sound of her heart, the touch of her mind combined with their child's love for her hit the Doctor full force. The Doctor didn't think that he would ever get used to feeling, no matter how many times he had experienced it. As much as the Doctor loved Rose, his love for her increased so much more when he was able to experience her fully through his time lord son.

The past three months had been a whirlwind for the Doctor. He had been used to running around the universe at full speed and while things had slowed down in some respects, they had been faster than ever in other aspects. While physically he had slowed down, emotionally he was running around more than ever. Rose and he had been on Earth living a rather domestic life ever since he had found out she was pregnant. It was true that he was chomping at the bit for a little bit of adventure, a change of scenery. He knew that Rose could sense it but he was trying to hide it. As much as he wanted to travel, he refused to do so with Rose in her current state. His desire to keep Rose and their son safe was much greater than his need to travel. His life had suddenly transformed from running around from one danger to the next to dotting on Rose and the baby, taking care of their every need. He had been given a second chance at fatherhood and he was going to do everything he could to cherish that.

The Doctor had been monitoring his son's progress every step of the way and he was more than pleased with his development. He was perfectly healthy and so was Rose. Not only that, but he was increasingly able to interact with his son in a way that he had not been able to in a very long time. He had been sending his love to his son through their minds everyday since the beginning but had been fully able to experience their bound when a few weeks ago his son had begun to respond back. His complicated mind was developing rapidly and every day he was able to interact with him more and more. When his son would send out his love and his memories of Rose, it always took his breath away. The love of a child from within the womb was an unspeakably amazing love; it had brought tears to his eyes the first time he had felt it.

As the Doctor's thoughts drifted to Rose, he felt excitement press into his mind from the small, yet persistent mind of his son. The Doctor's mind was touched with the sound of Rose's voice, the sound of her heartbeat and sense of warmness and protection. It was topped off with a question.

The Doctor felt his smile beaming on his face. "_Your mum isn't quite like us. She cant reach out to you yet like I can. But she is amazing...fantastic. She loves you so much and she will be so happy the second that she can speak to you too" _To solidify this in the mind of his son, he let memories of Rose pass from father to son. Her excitement and happiness as they had purchased baby items, her eagerness as she had chatted to her mum about how to properly take care of a baby, the wonderful moment of love they had shared as Rose had seen the nursery the first time and the overwhelming sense of amazement they had shared as they had seen him the first time. He hoped it was enough to convey to the tiny time lord how much his mother loved him.

He could feel his son's happiness and warmth at the knowledge of how much his mother loved him. He moved excitedly in Rose's womb, so much so that the Doctor was surprised that Rose didn't wake again. The Doctor could feel him reach out desperately for Rose's mind, wanting to connect with her on a deeper level. When he couldn't make the connection that he wanted, he nudged at the Doctor persistently.

_You sure are pushy...well, I suppose that makes sense, being my son, _The Doctor thought happily. The Doctor thought about letting Rose connect with their son in the way that he wanted. The Doctor could bridge the gap between mother and son in that aspect, but it would be a very sacred and intimate thing. It was most likely something that would change their relationship in a very strong way. The Doctor had been struggling with what to do now for months; the desire to be close to Rose and the need to push her away had both been so strong in him that he had remained standing still. Rose had tried to bring it up a few times, but like a coward, he had changed the subject. He hadn't known what to say so he had simply changed the subject to avoid having to discuss it. But deep down, he knew the answer and that was what was so scary. He had always avoiding becoming closer to Rose because he didn't want to become too attached, to get to the point where losing her would break him. But he was already beyond that point. He loved Rose without a doubt and if he lost her, it might kill him. He would suffer deeply, whether he went further in his relationship with Rose or not. He could lose nothing by becoming closer to her, only could gain what being in a relationship with Rose would bring. He knew he needed to tell her, he just hadn't figured out the best way to yet. Connecting her and their child might just be the step in the right direction they both needed. A flutter of excitement stirred in him when he came to the realization of what he needed to do.


	11. Chapter 11

Feeling nerves stir in his belly the Doctor leaned over and shook Rose awake. Rose moved in her sleep before finally waking, her sleepy eyes cracking and staring at the Doctor tiredly. Despite her fatigue, she smiled at the sight of him inches from her. "Hello, Rose" he said simply, nervous and happy at the prospect of what he was about to share with Rose.

"Hello, Doctor" she said amusement, her tone and face showing sleepiness. "Its the middle of the night...what did you wake me for? I already have one time lord keeping me awake, do I now have two?" she laughed tiredly, rubbing her eyes.

The Doctor smiled back at Rose. "Well...actually I can blame this on him too" he said in amusement. "He...wanted to...speak to you"

Rose seemed confused as she rubbed her eyes and sat up a little further in bed. "What do you mean he wanted to speak to me?" she asked.

The Doctor rolled over and faced Rose in bed; he knew Rose was at least a little aware that time lords minds worked differently than humans. But he hadn't really explained it at all to her. In fact, he hadn't explained it at all. He wondered how she would take the truth of it all. Humans didn't normally take very kindly to the 'mind reading' concept. Rose certainly hadn't taken well to the knowledge that the TARDIS translated languages for her through a telepathic link when she had first found out.

"Yeah" The Doctor said slowly. "Well, see...time lords can kind of...speak to each other telepathically."

Rose looked at him confused for a moment before he saw the understanding cross over her face. Shock came to her as she looked down at her belly. "Wait...you mean you can..._hear _him?" she asked in awe, her hand pressed to her belly.

The Doctor smiled; that was his brilliant Rose. Maybe she wasn't going to be mad at about it. "Yes...yeah, I can" he said, happiness emanating from his tone.

"How...does that work?" Rose asked in amazement. "you're...like a mind reader?"

The Doctor smiled. "No...I'm a telepath. There's a big difference" he said. "I can't just read people's minds. I can, however form a bond with the mind of another time lord."

Rose seemed a little relieved that the Doctor couldn't just read her mind. "You have a bond...with our baby?" she asked, awe dripping from her words.

"Yes...I've been able to speak with him through our telepathic link" The Doctor said. He took Rose's hand in his and looked into her eyes deeply. "Its amazing, Rose. Being able to talk to him, to feel what he's thinking"

Rose was beaming at him. "It sounds amazing" she said. "You're lucky you can do that...its like you've met him already and he's not even born" The Doctor could detect the smallest trace of jealousy in her tone. She wanted to be able to connect with their child like he had. He was overjoyed that he got to tell her she could.

"I am" the Doctor admitted. "But, you know...you are too. Because you can hear him too"

Rose's eyes widened. "What?" she asked. "But I'm not...time lord"

The Doctor squeezed her hand. "But I can bridge the gap between you and him" he said excitedly. "I can make it possible for you to receive and exchange thoughts with him." he looked deeply into her eyes. "And he's so very eager to meet you"

"I...I...can't believe this" she admitted, barely containing her excitement. "I cant believe that you can do this"

She looked down at her small, rounded belly. "Is he really excited to meet me?" he asked.

The Doctor reached out and touched her cheek, a smile beaming across his face. "Of course he is...why wouldn't he? He keeps nagging me to make it happen" he laughed.

Rose laughed before her face became a little more serious. "So...what do I do?" she asked. "Is it going to be...weird? Like you're poking around my head?"

The Doctor gave her a reassuring smile. "No...not at all" he said. "And you don't really have to do anything. You'll just hear his thoughts in your head and you can think back what you'd like to say to him. I promise I'll do no poking around"

Despite the happiness of the situation, the Doctor felt a little sad. Honestly, he _wanted _to poke around Rose's head. Not in the sense that she was thinking, like he was invading her privacy or anything. But for him and Rose to connect on a mental level would be the most intimate of gestures; for time lords it was more important than physical intimacy. For the first time, now having admit his love for Rose to himself, he could admit how much he wanted that with her. But it wasn't something taken lightly and it wasn't something he could jump into even if they did become in a relationship. As much as he wanted all of her, she would also be able to see all of him too and that terrified him.

"You ready?" he asked finally, looking at her. "It'll be pretty intense, especially the first time."

Rose looked a little nervous, but excited. "Alright" she said. "Yeah...yeah I'm ready"

Nerves turned the Doctor's stomach as he put his hand first on Rose's belly and reached out to his son. _Hello, little one, _he sent out. He felt his son's energy reach out to him, excited as always for the contact from the Doctor. _I've been talking to your mum...and I'm going to try to let you speak to her. But go easy on her, alright? She's not used to this sort of thing. _He could feel a sense of laughter come from his son before he calmed down, ready to go easy on Rose.

The Doctor left one hand on her belly and put the other to her temple. The gesture alone sent a shiver down his spine; how easy it could be to just reach out and touch her mind, if only a little bit. He inwardly chided himself for such thoughts. He had to get control of himself.

The Doctor closed his eyes and focused, on the two minds under his hands, the two who meant everything to the Doctor. The Doctor opened Rose's mind just enough for their son to reach her, careful to not focus too much on the tantalizing closeness of her. He reached out for his son and pushed his thoughts toward Rose.

Even the Doctor wasn't prepared for the rush of their minds coming together; it wasn't something that he had ever done before and he was in no way prepared. The happiness their son sent Rose's way, combined with every little memory he had had of her, the delicate things like her voice and her feelings, how he perceived them, combined with her instant thoughts of overwhelming love toward him was completely breath taking. It was, in all of senses of the word..._fantastic_. ...

Rose put the last of soft, blue baby clothes into the drawer before closing it. Her feet ached and she slowly made her way to the rocker in the corner of the nursery and sat down. Though she hadn't been up that long, she already felt completely zapped of her strength. She had slept in, but she supposed that that was part of being pregnant. It seemed though that lately she got more fatigued every day.

Rose smiled as she felt little Pete kicking and wiggling inside of her; she put her hand on her stomach. "You've got no problems with energy do you?" she teased. "you're probably taking all of my energy to use in your belly acrobatics" She felt him begin to move more insistently and she smiled. "You're making your point, I feel you"

Rose sat back and tried to relax as Pete continued his lively stunts inside her womb; though she sometimes complained that she couldn't sleep because he was so energetic, she wouldn't give it up for anything. His kicks and nudges had become so frequent that they were just a part of her now. If he was anything like his dad, he would come out running and never stop

Rose laid her head back and thought back to the night before. She had not been prepared for the incredible experience that she had gotten to share with the Doctor and their son. He had warned her that it would be intense but that hadn't even begun to describe it. Intense was a mild way of putting it. She had been frightened at first when the Doctor had suggested the telepathic link; she had never experienced something like that and really had no idea what to expect. It had made Rose aware of really how much there was about him that she didn't know. It had scared her to think she had to open her mind completely, to expose herself. The Doctor had assured her that he wouldn't see anything but she had still been hesitant; but hearing how much their son desired to connect with her made her realize that she had had to try.

When the Doctor had put his hand to her temple to begin the link between their minds, Rose had felt something strange stiring inside her. It was like there was a part of her crying out for something, though she had no idea what. It was a kind of longing that she had not yet experienced; the second that the Doctor had connected her mind to the mind of their son, the screaming inside of her had stopped.

The blast of images and emotions inside her had been overwhelming. She had seen and felt everything that her son had been wanting to convey to her from the moment he had become aware. She had seen herself as he saw her; she had heard her voice as heard by him, heard the calming way her heart beat inside her like a lullaby to him. She had felt how warm and secure he felt nestled inside her womb, the way he could feel her mind at the edge of his, yet felt the disappoint he had felt when he tried to reach out to her but couldn't reach. She could see the way he felt about the Doctor, how much love she had for him, and she could feel exactly how much love he had held in his hearts for her from the moment he been made.

The realization had created such extreme, overwhelming love in her, it had burst from her mind into the mind of her son. She had felt his happiness and acceptance bursting inside him and though he didn't speak words yet, his message was undeniable; _I love you._

When Rose had broken away from the bond, she had felt overwhelmed. She had laid against the bed, her hands shaking and her heart beating hard inside her. She had clung to the Doctor and held onto him for a long time, marveling at how amazing it had felt. Rose had wondered if this was the type of interaction the Doctor had had all the time with his people; the thought made her sad, to think that he hadn't been able to share that with anyone. But now he could; the Doctor was no longer the last of the time lords.

The energy between Rose and the Doctor had been heavily charged in the moments after. Rose's face had been inches from his and she had wanted to reach out and kiss him. She wished that she could experience such closeness with him that she had felt with their son. When they had been linked she had felt him at the edge of her mind; it was a strange feeling, but she somehow knew that he was keeping his promise to not poke around. She wondered what it would have felt like if he had.

But as much as Rose wanted to kiss him, she had pulled back; she could feel in that moment that something had changed but she didn't want to spoil the intimate moment by doing something that she wasn't sure he wanted. She had laid back on the bed and had stared up at the Doctor; it had been quiet; she hadn't known what to say and everything she was thinking couldn't be put into words.

The Doctor had leaned over her, his eyes intense as he reached up and brushed her hair behind her ear. His hand had lightly touched her temple, where only minuets ago he had created such a delicate bond. She had shivered as she felt that intense sensation of need she had felt before when he had touched her. The movement had not gone unnoticed by him; a moment later he had taken her hands in his, turning her toward him in bed. Her hands had been shaking still and he had looked at her with concern. "Are you alright?" he asked again. His voice was shaking and she wondered if he was feeling anything close to what he was in that moment.

Rose hadn't trusted herself to speak so she had just nodded. She had moved her shaky hands away from his, putting them on his head and gently moving his head so that it was lying on her chest. They had laid there in silence and it had not been long at all before Rose had heard the Doctor's breath slow and even, fast asleep. It had not been long before had drifted off to sleep herself.


End file.
